Opinion ID: 1281848
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 12

Heading: Mitigation Agreements and Other Conditions Which Have Been Accepted by Reserve.

Text: On January 8, 1973, the PCA entered into an air quality stipulation agreement with Reserve which was subsequently expanded and amended on May 21, 1975, and December 23, 1975. These agreements dealt with measures to be taken by Reserve to reduce particulate emissions and improve air quality. The agreements specify in detail the measures which Reserve must take to modify its plant operations to achieve a goal of 99.6 percent reduction in particulate emissions. In compliance with the court of appeals' decision Reserve agreed to install fabric filters on hood exhaust and waste gas stacks of its pelletizing machines, or to utilize wet-wall electrostatic precipitators or other devices to exploit the best technology which is economically feasible and available. In addition, Reserve agreed to furnish fabric filters on various other stacks, bins, and buildings with a view to complying with all state and Federal statutes, ordinances, and administrative regulations. One of the appeals before us deals with the district court's refusal to reopen the record to receive newly discovered evidence concerning the malfunctioning of the wet-wall electrostatic precipitators. Sierra Club asserts that this evidence lends support to the claim that the efficacy of these mitigating measures is open to serious doubt and tends to impeach the credibility of Reserve's witnesses who testified that the process would be effective. The record before us includes Reserve's memorandum brief for the trial court fully disclosing the difficulties it experienced in experimenting with precipitators. Reserve advised the court that these problems indicated that additional research and development would be necessary to successfully operate proposed dust control facilities, and gave assurance that steps would be taken to overcome the maintenance problem which had arisen. Under these circumstances, whether or not the trial court properly exercised its discretion, we are of the opinion that the exclusion of additional evidence was not prejudicial since the trial court had already been made aware of facts which put in doubt the effectiveness of the precipitators. We will not undertake to extend this opinion unduly by describing in detail all of the measures which Reserve has agreed to pursue to mitigate and minimize emissions of fugitive dust from the tailings site and the processing plant. Four major steps will be taken in efforts to contain dust emissions from roads, dikes, exposed dam areas, and deposits of coarse tailings and silt. These measures are water submerging, water sprinkling, chemical binding, and vegetation. As we have noted, all course tailings and fine silt will be submerged in 10 feet of water until the basin reaches its capacity. At that time and as dikes and dam structures are made permanent they will be vegetated to provide a permanent cover which will be designed to minimize dust emissions and soil erosion. There is evidence that coarse tailings can be successfully seeded and that they will ultimately revert to a state of nature. In the interim Reserve proposes to utilize a continual process of water sprinkling and binding with such chemicals as calcium chloride and a commercial product known as Coherex. There is evidence that the latter is biodegradable, non-toxic, and not injurious to plant life. Dr. Cowherd testified that increasing tailings moisture from 2 percent to 10 percent would lower the emission rate from .068 pounds per ton to .003 pounds per ton, a 95 percent reduction. As we have previously indicated, the pollution control equipment planned for abating emissions from stacks at the processing plant is expected to reduce the volume of such emissions from 65.8 tons per day to less than 2 tons per day. In referring to the stipulation agreement governing air quality, Tibor Kosa, who made the above estimates, testified: In summary, the DAQ [PCA, Division of Air Quality] is of the opinion that Reserve Mining Company will install and start to operate on as technically tight a schedule as possible pollution control equipment for over three million cubic feet per minute contaminated air in their Silver Bay processing plant. This pollution control system represents the best available technology in our experience in this field. According to my knowledge, no other mining company in the world installed such efficient pollution control equipment for their pelletizing machines. At the present time, equipment installation is progressing on schedule on other sources. A very substantial reduction in particulate fiber emission from the processing plant will take place after all the control equipment is in operation. Having in mind that the PCA Board initially rejected the hearing officer's recommendations by a vote of 5 to 4, we are of the opinion that the testimony of its director, Peter Gove, is particularly relevant: After extensive analysis by the PCA staff considering only the environmental parameters of all sites, Midway is the preferred alternative. The PCA staff recognizes, however, that the environmental benefits of a site must be analyzed in light of other considerations. If the Hearing Officer finds that there are no feasible and prudent alternatives to the Mile Post 7 site, pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Chapter 116(d).046, the MPCA staff, on the basis of available data, could recommend the issuance of a permit for Mile Post 7 with the conditions described in previous testimony. The Department of Natural Resources staff have recommended to the Hearing Officer that the Mile Post 7 site be rejected. The Mile Post 7 site is not the PCA's preferred site from an environmental standpoint. However, the MPCA staff does not recommend to the Hearing Officer that the Midway alternative or any of the other alternatives is more feasible and prudent than Reserve's modified Mile Post 7 plan. There are substantial differences between the sites under consideration with respect to certain parameters. There will be environmental impacts at all the sites under consideration. We believe when combining all parameters of the various sites, however, the differences between the sites are small. Our responsibilities pursuant to the Minnesota Environmental Policy Act require an evaluation of all parameters of each site. While we see certain environmental advantage at Midway and the Babbitt sites, at the same time we must recognize the additional cost for the company to construct at these sites. The MPCA staff concludes that subject to the conditions stated by the MPCA's water quality and air quality staffs and confirmation of the feasibility, safety and fiber reduction from placing the coarse tailings under water, that Mile Post 7 is a reasonable site for tailings deposition. We believe, however, that both Mile Post 7 and Midway could form the basis for resolution of this case. These sites are feasible sites for which we believe the environmental hazards can be minimized, providing that the best available technology is diligently applied. Selection of either of the sites can end the discharge into Lake Superior, an issue that has been paramount with our Agency since 1969. The additional expense for locating at Mile Post 20 to which Mr. Gove referred was estimated by the state to be $80 million and by Reserve to be $140 million. Reserve is now prepared to spend over $300 million for an on-land tailings site at Mile Post 7, of which counsel for Reserve has represented to the court the company is committed to applying $42 million in reducing and containing fiber emissions from its processing plant. If it is permitted to proceed with construction, Reserve has given assurances that in 27 months 40 percent of its tailings will be removed from the lake and in 33 months all discharges will terminate. It is difficult to conceive of more stringent conditions for guaranteeing acceptable air and water quality than those which have been imposed on Reserve, Armco, and Republic and to which they have formally agreed. The permits to be granted under Minn.St. 116.081 must be reviewed and renewed every 5 years. The three companies agree to assume all risks and liabilities arising out of the operation of Mile Post 7. They are committed to perpetual maintenance of the site to prevent tailings from reentering the air and water and have agreed to all of the mitigation measures we have discussed, using the best technology available. In addition, the companies agree to comply not only with existing laws and agency regulations but those which may be adopted in the future. Monitoring air and water for any potentially hazardous conditions will be conducted at company expense and will include fiber counting by X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, or by any other method which PCA specifies. Although DNR and PCA question Reserve's sincerity and its capacity to achieve the mitigation goals it proposes, we are not persuaded that Reserve will risk an investment of over $300 million if it has any reason to believe that when the project is completed it will not have met standards required by state and Federal laws and regulations, and that consequently it will not be permitted to continue its operations at Silver Bay. Other issues have been raised by appellants and have been considered by the court. However, we find they do not affect the results or require further discussion.