Pattison Sand requests to increase water withdrawals
According to application, water will be used for processing silica sand
By Audrey Posten | Times-Register
Pattison Sand Company would like to dramatically increase water withdrawals and sources of water at its sand mining operation in Clayton County.
A notice of intent to modify a permit was published in the Calmar Courier newspaper in Winneshiek County on March 18. No notice appeared in The Guttenberg Press or Times-Register newspapers, the publications closest to the Pattison site near Clayton.
In an application to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Pattison Sand requests a permit modification to withdraw water from two Mississippi River alluvial aquifer wells, two Jordan aquifer wells, one mine pond intake, one Mississippi River intake and two proposed quarry/rail track dewatering basins. A water use permit is required for any entity that withdraws over 25,000 gallons in a 24-hour period during a calendar year.
According to the Iowa DNR water use permit summary report, the current permitted maximum withdrawal quantity is 976.8 million gallons per year (mgy) at a maximum total instantaneous rate of 3,700 gallons per minute (gpm) from a variety of sources.
Pattison wishes to increase the maximum annual allocation withdrawal amount to 3,743 mgy from increasing multiple groundwater and surface water sources. That would be a maximum rate of 9,675 gallons per minute throughout the year. The additional sources are for intakes dewatering the track/rail car basins, the report said.
That includes the maximum quantity of 423 million gallons per year, at a maximum rate of 850 gallons per minute, from the Mississippi River alluvial aquifer; 1,435 million gallons per year, or 2,800 gallons per minute, from the Jordan aquifer; 77 million gallons per year, or 150 gallons per minute, from the mine pond; 564 million gallons per year, or 1,100 gallons per minute, from the Mississippi River; and 1,244 million gallons per year, or 4,800 gallons per minute, from the quarry/rail track dewatering basins.
The application states the water will be used for the quarrying and production of silica sand from an underground St. Peter sandstone mine. More specifically, a majority of the requested increase in allocation is projected for dewatering of the mined formation and through the quarry/rail track dewatering basins.
The application does not indicate an intent to sell water and ship it by rail car to western states, as Pattison proposed to do five years ago. The DNR denied that request three times on grounds that it did not meet a beneficial use or permitting requirements.
According to the summary report for this latest water use permit modification, however, quarrying of earth materials is a priority allocation beneficial use as determined by Iowa Code.
The report said two other water use withdrawal permits utilize wells open in the Jordan aquifer near the Pattison Sand wells—one for the city of Garnavillo at 39.8 million gallons per year and another for the city of Clayton for 11.5 million gallons per year.
According to the Iowa DNR, “the lateral distance between these locations prevents significant instantaneous well interference between the permitted wells from occurring.”
The report further stated, “The Jordan aquifer is assumed to be confined to the west of the mine in the region, separated by the land surface by Glenwood shale, approximately 25 feet thick in the area. Wells open in the aquifers above the confining layer should not be impacted by mining dewatering operations.”
Depending on the dewatering depth and extent utilized for mining silica sand, the DNR said dewatering of the Jordan aquifer for mining purposes will establish a regional cone of depression in the aquifer around the Pattison Sand mining footprint. “Jordan aquifer water levels should be measured in Garnavillo city wells to determine the influence,” the report added.
The report noted many private wells in the area also utilize the Jordan aquifer. “Mining and dewatering of the mine could cause private wells to encounter well interference,” it warned. “At this point, no direct evidence of well interference has occurred due to dewatering or mining of the facility.”
In the event of a future well interference, the DNR said the interests of individuals using water for domestic purposes, as well as those benefitting from the Garnavillo and Clayton permits, are protected in cases of substantial injury pursuant to Section 455B.271 of the Iowa Code, which relates to the modification or cancellation of permits.
In the Iowa DNR’s estimation, “the ability and intent of the applicant to devote a reasonable amount of water to a beneficial use seems evident.”
The agency recommends the permit be granted, citing no evidence the permit modification would constitute a waste of water resources of the state, be incompatible with the state’s comprehensive plan for water resources, impair pollution control laws or navigability of water or be detrimental to the public interest or the interests of property owners with prior or superior rights who might be affected.
“The requested amount of water use is also justified by law, barring compelling circumstances that mitigate to the contrary,” said the report, signed by Chad Fields, geologist III with the Iowa DNR’s Water Supply Engineering Section. “No substantial adverse effect upon other water users is foreseen at this time.”
According to the published notice, comments on the report and on this use of water must be received by April 15, addressed to Chad Fields at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Water Supply Engineering Section, 6200 Park Ave., Suite 200, Des Moines, IA 50321, or chad.fields@dnr.iowa.gov. Comments should specify the log number 33,483. A copy of the summary report for the application is also available upon request.
Following publication of notice and subject to revisions in response to comments that may be submitted, the permit would be issued for 10 years.
On March 25, the group the Driftless Water Defenders (DWD) sent a letter to the Iowa DNR requesting the agency hold a public hearing regarding Pattison’s proposal.
“DWD is closely monitoring the state program for managing water use permits, which to date have been largely unregulated,” the group said in its latest newsletter.
Due to public interest and feedback, that request was later granted. A public hearing will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22, in the public meeting room at the Clayton County Office Building in Elkader. The water use program staff will hear input from the public regarding the water use permit modification request. As a result, the initial approval date of April 15 will be delayed to account for input from the public hearing.
