Story originally printed in the Vernon Broadcaster or online at www.vernonbroadcaster.com
Published - Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Dairyland’s ash currently stored sometimes in quarries
While many people are concerned about a proposed 600-acre landfill for ash from Dairyland Power Coopera-tive's Genoa power plant, few know that ash from the plant has been stored in quarries in the area for some time for use in road construction.
Dairyland has been met with considerable resistance to the proposed landfill, which it says is needed as the cooperative finds a place to store a greater degree of ash containing more toxins and heavy metals than are in ash currently disposed of by the cooperative. The Dairyland plant could produce up to eight times the amount of ash that it is currently when new pollution controls are installed in 2009. Dairyland has proposed investigating two sites along Hwy. 56 in western Vernon County to develop into landfills. Landowners, where the sites are located or who live adjacent to the sites, have started a grassroots campaign to stop the ash from being stored in the area.
DPC currently recycles about 85 percent of the ash produced at its Genoa facility and much of that is used for road projects. The "bottom ash" or heavy ash is used for seal coating projects and other roadway construction purposes. The reuse is allowed by the Department of Natural Resources and DPC sells the byproduct under contract to any company that wants to use it for road projects.
As a result, the bottom ash that is produced is often "stockpiled" by the contractors, who store it until it can be used in construction projects. One such pile is located in the town of Viroqua and is being stockpiled by Scott Construction Company of Lake Delton. The ash can legally be stockpiled in a quarry, but state and local officials were apparently unaware of the ash stockpile at the town of Viroqua location.
Vernon County Land and Water Conservation program manager Julie Hill, who oversees quarry permitting for the county, said she has no authority to regulate uses in the quarries after they are permitted as long as the requirements for the permit are met, but she does work with DNR officials and there are other DNR regulations that apply to quarry operations. Hill said she received information in mid-October that there may be another ash stockpile in a quarry, but was not aware of the exact location until she went to a quarry permitted to M. T. Rock for a routine spot check.
Once Hill was aware of the location of the pile she did an inspection of the quarry. Hill said the pile was not in violation of any local ordinances, but she was concerned that it was located next to a waterway and contacted the DNR.
In a phone interview on Thursday, Oct. 25, Michael Miller, a DNR waste specialist, said there is no requirement to get a permit for such piles, but the ash is considered a class II waste and is regulated. Miller said that means the pile is allowed to be stockpiled for up to two years before it is placed on an "impervious" surface. After two years it would need to be stored in a more permanent containment and on a hard surface, Miller said. Miller said the DNR allows stockpiling for that long because it made a determination through testing that even with maximum rainfall and snow runoff the materials leaching through the piles pose no threat to groundwater.
When asked if he was concerned about the placement of a pile in a quarry that county officials have stated provides a more direct path to groundwater, Miller said the testing considered those factors. He said even if the leaching was directly into the groundwater it would not pose an immediate threat of contamination.
Miller said a more immediate concern was the information that Hill had relayed to him that the pile was placed close to a waterway and could be leaching into the headwaters of Bishop Creek.
In another phone interview with Miller following a site inspection of the stockpile on Tuesday, Oct. 30, Miller said he and other DNR officials had a conversation with Scott Construction officials at the site about the location of the pile and DNR requirements. Miller said an earth berm had already been placed between the pile and the "dry run" next to the pile. Miller said he was satisfied with the measures taken to mitigate runoff into the waterway, but was less satisfied with not being notified about the location of the pile.
"If a rain event occurs, I feel comfortable there will be no problem," said Miller.
When asked about how the DNR monitors the two-year clock on stockpiles, Miller said it is based on a voluntary notification by contractors. When asked about having no notification on this stockpile, Miller said, "I will have to have a word with Mr. Scott (Randy Scott of Scott Construction Company) about that."
"I will be writing them a letter about that (notification) and I think it was just a miscommunication," said Miller. "They (Scott) thought Dairyland was supposed to do it and Dairyland thought Scott was supposed to do it."
Dairyland's director of environmental affairs, Don Huff, said the responsibility to contact the DNR about the location of stockpiles lies with the contractor.
"We do try to make sure they are following all regulations, but it is really their responsibility to take care of notification and any permitting," said Hoff.
Hoff said Scott Construction is the only contractor hauling the material from Genoa and he and other Dairyland officials have been in contact with Scott Construction about the stockpiling of the material.
All stories copyright 2006 Vernon Broadcaster and other attributed sources.