Plans to pump 7.2 million gallons of water into the St. Louis River system out of the Minntac taconite plant every day will get a public review Nov. 30 at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency office in Duluth.
The informal meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the PCA's Duluth office in Canal Park and is intended to inform the public on the company's proposal and gauge public concerns before the agency and company form a draft permit for the wastewater discharge in coming months.
For years, the company has wanted to discharge more water out of its taconite processing system in Mountain Iron. The plant uses about 250,000 gallons of water every minute in taconite production and moving waste rock tailings from the plant to the tailings dumping basin. The water is reused and becomes choked with particles that can affect the company's pellet quality and equipment.
The only discharge from the system allowed under state permits is water that seeps out of Minntac's giant tailings basin.
The company first proposed sending the extra discharge into the Dark River or the Sandy River, which run to the north. But an environmental review and concerns from groups downstream persuaded the company to look south. The plan would send the wastewater into a mine pit, then into the West Two Rivers Reservoir and eventually into the St. Louis River and Lake Superior.
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Concerns have been expressed over the sheer volume of water and particulates, water hardness, sulfates and chloride. Minntac has proposed treating its incoming water to reduce sulfates, which can affect mercury levels in water.
Jeff Udd of the PCA's industrial permitting office in Duluth said Minntac's formal permit application arrived over the summer. A draft permit is expected to be finished in early 2007, which will trigger a more formal comment period. The PCA could deny the proposed permit change, approve it, modify it or make other requirements of the company, Udd said.
"This meeting is a chance to see the company's proposal and comment on it before the official comment period, before staff prepares a draft permit," PCA spokeswoman Anne Moore said.
The PCA's Duluth Office is in the Paulucci Building, 525 Lake Avenue South, Suite 400. For details, call (218) 723-4660.
