SPILL AND COVER-UP

WATERWORKS Column by Gordon Prickett for the 2/6/2013 Aitkin Independent Age THE REST OF THE STORY Last month I wrote in this Waterworks column about a dumping case in Nordland Township near a Recreational Development lake. Last summer industrial waste was trucked up north in canisters from a bio-diesel plant in Anoka and poured into pits dug in a hayfield in Section 4. Our zoning office was surprised last fall when they learned about this dumping, because no permit had been applied for. In October the County notified the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency about this waste disposal, and an inspector was on the site within hours. SPILL AND COVER-UP It turns out that neighbors had known for weeks that something unusual had been happening in this hayfield, which lies between a horse farm and a pine plantation. In fact, a trailer load of waste canisters had recently overturned at the corner of Highway 47 and Dove Street, a mile east of Aitkin. The sheriff had been called, and oily liquid had been cleaned off the pavement with absorbent powder. Work crews had been unloading canisters in the field and ignoring questions from neighbors. But the folks could see that the vehicles carried the name of SarTec Corporation. This activity was out in the middle of the field, hundreds of feet from the township road. Eventually concerns arose in the neighborhood about the safety of nearby water wells, so several of us took a look. We saw yellow and brown oily pools and caked white sludge, beside the freshly excavated and covered pits. That’s when the Environmental Services Department got the word at the courthouse - on Thursday, October 18th. By Monday afternoon, October 22nd, the area had been tilled and all traces of the disturbance had been removed. “No Trespassing” signs were posted. QUESTIONS REMAIN The neighborhood is still trying to find out what chemical compounds are buried in the field which lies in the Shoreland Zone of a 400-acre lake. What is the restoration plan, and what penalties were paid by those responsible for this pollution? The latest word from the authorities is that any answers are considered “non-public information at this time.” “The company has been directed to cease disposing of material at the site.” Last year the hay crop had been defoliated, and some new grasses and sedges were planted. They appeared to be non-edible plants for experimentation with bio-diesel fuels. Stay tuned.

APPLICABLE REGULATIONS

WATERWORKS by Gordon Prickett - a column for January 2, 2013 Aitkin Independent Age APPLICABLE REGULATIONS I’ve noticed a tendency on the part of a few recreational visitors as they approach vacant county land to conclude that “Nobody lives up here, so....” Sometimes seasonal residents who pay taxes, but have no say as to how these tax levies are set, complain in Early American fashion about “Taxation without representation!” When there are important environmental rules governing the use of the land and waters up here, it’s not easy or simple to make sure that knowledge of the law is well understood. So it was in the torrential rains of June 2012, when the County enacted temporary boating restrictions requiring “slow-no wake speeds” on all county lakes. Through the efforts of the news media, lake associations, and lake neighbors, the news of these emergency measures was communicated, and the word eventually got out pretty well. One of the purposes of ACLARA, the Aitkin County Lakes And Rivers Association, is to “support compliance with all applicable rules and regulations” on county waters. We are continuing to review the experience of last summer, and will report results of a survey of our membership to the County Board this winter. WHAT ABOUT SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL? At the present time there is an “open case” from Aitkin County, pending before the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, where industrial waste from outside Aitkin County was hauled onto a field within the shoreland zone of one of our Recreational Development (RD) lakes. The zoning office was notified, and the site was inspected. The MPCA personnel involved have promised that just as soon as the case is closed, the details of the case will be shared. You should be able to read a summary of this story in my column in the Age on February 6th. Meanwhile, it’s important to stress that, without enforcement, rules and regulations concerning the environment mean very little.