Legalectric

Great, just great. “About” a million gallons of Minnesota Power’s Boswell coal plant’s coal ash wastewater dumped into Blackwater Lake (appropriate name!), a pond connected to the Mississippi River, a pond where the plant’s cooling water is drawn from, and also a pond where people fish!

The good news is that MP didn’t do an Xcel and wait for MONTHS to disclose. It appears that MP got on the horn almost instantly after the spill was discovered and reported it.

There’s supposedly a press release, but it’s not posted on their “Press Release” page, so I asked about it. MP did get back to me and shared its statement — THANK YOU!

From KAXE:

1M gallons of coal ash wastewater spilled at Cohasset coal plant

Here’s what the STrib has to say:

One million gallons of coal ash wastewater spill at Minnesota Power coal plant

The Duluth-based electric utility said an unknown amount of polluted water had reached a nearby lake after a pipe leaked. 

By Walker Orenstein and Chloe Johnson Star Tribune

July 17, 2024 — 9:39am

Minnesota Power said about 1 million gallons of coal ash wastewater spilled at its large coal plant in Cohasset, Minn., pouring out over land with at least some reaching nearby Blackwater Lake.

The Duluth-based electric utility said in a news release that a pipeline leaked on Tuesday at the Boswell Energy Center that transfers wastewater from a pond containing the byproducts of coal combustion to the plant where it is used as process water.

Minnesota Power said the leak has been contained and the company is monitoring for potential impacts to water and wildlife, and also notified the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency.

MPCA is investigating the spill, spokeswoman Andrea Cournoyer said in a statement.

According to a report to the State Duty Officer, the spill was originally discovered at 11:15 a.m. Tuesday. The report was made 15 minutes later, and Minnesota Power said a “loss of pump pressure” caused the spill.

Coal ash contains pollutants including mercury, cadmium and arsenic, which can pollute water and air if not properly managed, according to the EPA.

The 674-acre Blackwater Lake is a reservoir on the Mississippi River, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. Lake levels are controlled by the Pokegama Dam operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

It’s still unclear how far the material may have spread, or how long the pipeline was leaking. Walter Shadley, Cohasset’s public works and utility supervisor, said the town does not draw its drinking water from the Mississippi.

Minnesota Power draws water from the lake to cool its plant and releases heated water. The DNR describes the lake as “essentially a flooded river channel.” A bay where the DNR said the coal plant discharges heated water attracts fish and is popular with anglers, according to the agency.

The Boswell plant is Minnesota Power’s largest electricity source. Its two operating coal-fired units are capable of producing 932 megawatts of electricity. One unit at the plant is scheduled to retire in 2030, and the second is slated to close in 2035 as the utility transitions to carbon-free power to meet its climate goals and state regulations for a carbon-free grid by 2040.

Here we go for another round — a Motion for Certification to the Public Utilities Commission:

Minn. R. 1400.7600 CERTIFICATION OF MOTIONS TO AGENCY.

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/rules/1400.7600/… Any party may request that a pending motion or a motion decided adversely to that party by the judge before or during the course of the hearing, other than rulings on the admissibility of evidence or interpretations of parts 1400.5100 to 1400.8400, be certified by the judge to the agency…

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/rules/1400.7600/

We’re asking that the Public Utilities Commission take up the matter of World Organization for Landowner Freedom’s Intervention:

Included after the Motion, but here separately:

It’s just so offensive. This matter matters (!), and W.O.L.F. is the only one in there objecting and requesting Intervention. Why this Motion? Why ask for Certification to the Public Utilities Commission to consider and decide? Well, in a nutshell:

Why?? Because of the ALJ’s denial of W.O.L.F.’s intervention based on a false statement regarding W.O.L.F.’s “only” contribution, and conflation of two different conditions in the original Arrowhead-Weston Transmission Line Exemption Order, that of the noise condition and the necessity of noise reduction measures to comply with Minnesota’s noise standard (Minn. R. 7030.0040) with an 800 MVA transformer limitation of capacity to assure the line isn’t for bulk power transfer! I have an urge to do a Data Practices Act Request and have the EQB’s Arrowhead Transmission Project record sent to his office!

This same Administrative Law Judge threatened the “Union Intervenors” with unauthorized practice of law… veiled threat? No, it’s overt. He had to take the action of looking beyond the OAH Rules to find Minn. Stat. § 481.02 and Minn. Stat. § 481.02, subd. 3(5) (2022), and to say:

In short, while the Judge does not intend to manage the practice of law in this matter, parties should be aware that potential issues could arise for non-lawyers who are not statutorily exempted from the general prohibition of non-lawyer practice of law in Minn. Stat. § 481.02. The Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board may be a resource for more information on this topic.

Really, that’s a quote — and no, it’s not a “helpful cautionary warning” — check this footnote:

OH. MY. DOG! That’s just too bizarre.

• Looking up a name on MARS attorney registration site takes a matter of seconds — “does not know” when it’s that easy to find out? Give me a break…
• But that’s not an issue. Runke and Kolodzieski have not held themselves out as attorneys, to my knowledge.
• But more importantly, non-attorneys are welcome to practice in hearings before Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH). See the Power Plant Siting Act rules, Minn. R. 1405.0600, and also Minn. R. 1400.5800. This is something a Judge at the Office of Administrative Hearings frequently presiding over utility dockets should know. There’s no excuse for threats like that, bandying about “unauthorized practice law.” This is not “court” and the OAH rules expressly provide for non-attorney representation.

I’ve run short of printable words, though I did quick hammer out this objection, and copied the Chief Judge:

This is all so contrary to the Public Utilities Commission’s charge to encourage public participation:

216E.08 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.

Subd. 2. Other public participation.

The commission shall adopt broad spectrum citizen participation as a principal of operation. The form of public participation shall not be limited to public hearings and advisory task forces and shall be consistent with the commission’s rules and guidelines as provided for in section 216E.16.

Here’s the ALJ’s denial of World Organization for Landowner Freedom’s Petition for Intervention:

And just filed is W.O.L.F.’s Motion for Reconsideration of Denial of World Organization for Landowner Freedom Intervention – can’t let this slide by:

Got a pissive from American Transmission Company (ATC) — apparently it objects to World Organization for Landowner Freedom’s (WOLF)_Petition-for-Intervention in the Minnesota Power “HVDC Modernization” docket (Public Utilities Commission dockets E015/CN-22-607 and E015/TL-22-611).

Here’s ATC‘s Objection:

And here’s World Organization of Landowner Freedom’s response, filed this afternoon:

Take that, American Transmission Company! I clearly remember how nasty they were during the Arrowhead-Weston projects, years of hearing their arguments that were so twisted. I wish I still had the 12 or more boxes from that project, Minnesota and Wisconsin dockets, stretching from 1999 to 2005.

In Minnesota, the issue was whether the project should be exempt from the Power Plant Siting Act. W.O.L.F. was the only intervenor to take it to the MN Court of Appeals, and we lost, went down in flames.

The Wisconsin hearing (05-CE-113) starting in January 2000, or was it 2001… anyway, learning the technical aspects of transmission was intense, so much so that my brain hurt.

But back to ATC’s Objection to W.O.L.F.’s Intervention… Later this afternoon, Minnesota Power filed stating it had no objection to W.O.L.F.’s Intervention, and no objection to LIUNA’s (union group) late-filed Petition for Intervention, noting they’d been participating all along:

Well, that’s good! Now, onward! Any time now, the Administrative Law Judge Mortenson can decide on Intervention.

Here’s the schedule from the Prehearing Order:

Time to get some Information Requests ready to file!

Here we go, World Organization for Landowner Freedom is BAAAACK!

Here we go!