Duluth News Tribune reported that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency citizens board has approved a permit for Essar Steel Minnesota to operate its tailings basin to handle waste material from taconite production as early as in 2013.

The board voted unanimously to reissue a so called NPDES-SDS permit to Essar, which is building the state’s first new taconite operation in more than 35 years. Those permits must be reissued every five years.

The plant, being built in Nashwauk, will send a slurry of waste rock and water into the old Butler Taconite plant tailings basin south of Highway 169. The basin is being redesigned to prevent any seepage off the premises.

The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy argued that the type of permit being issued wasn't appropriate. They also questioned the PCA staff claims that there would be little or no seepage from the tailings basin into nearby waterways such as Swan Lake and the Swan River. The group is concerned that elevated sulfate levels, which can come from runoff from mining operations, may be damaging wild rice crops downstream.

PCA officials and Essar say the newly designed basin will have a collection system to pump any seepage back into the basin, preventing major underground movement into the environment.

The USD 1.7 billion Essar project has been under way for about a year, with mining expected to begin early next year and taconite production set to begin late in 2013.

Mr Kevin Kangas director of environmental and government affairs for Essar said that "While some work on the project slowed in recent weeks, we are back up to 150 construction workers on site and we’re pushing to bring more on in the next few weeks."

Source - Duluth News Tribune

(www.steelguru.com)