EOG Resources requesting change in reclamation permit for S&S Mine
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
CHIPPEWA FALLS — EOG Resources, which had been mining frac sand at the Schindler and Sikora Mine in the Town of Howard, is requesting a change in the reclamation permit to include no wetland mitigation requirements.
Chippewa County Land and Water Conservation held a public informational meeting on the proposed modifications to the reclamation permit on August 15 at the Chippewa County Courthouse.
The S&S Mine is listed as 185 acres and is located in Section 11 of the Town of Howard.
According to the reclamation plan amendment submitted to Chippewa County in May of this year, in June of 2020, EOG Resources and the contractor Kraemer Mining and Materials began reclamation planning at the Schindler and Sikora Mine.
By that time, EOG Resources had removed about 9 percent of the sandstone that the company had planned to take out of the mine because the proppant sand market in Wisconsin had collapsed.
Companies using the frac sand to “prop” open fissures in the rock in order to extract more oil from oil operations in Texas and other southern states had discovered they could use locally-sourced sand that did not cost as much to obtain because it did not need to be shipped from Wisconsin.
According to the reclamation plan amendment, the final reclamation design for the S&S Mine from April 13, 2009, was not able to be used across the entire site.
The upgraded reclamation plan incorporated current site conditions and used gradual slopes over much of the site that are 6:1 or flatter. The plan required a few slopes at a maximum of 4:1 to provide site soils balance, according to the plan amendment.
Sunde Engineering worked with Kramer to finalize the plan, which includes permanent stormwater management features.
The stormwater pollution prevention plan was amended to include the updated final reclamation grades and the permanent stormwater management features along with site erosion and sedimentation control using best management practices.
The site had overburden and sand piles that were used as fill to shape the land, and various topsoil piles across the site were used to spread over the final reclamation grade.
The two stormwater ponds will treat runoff before the stormwater discharges off the site and will minimize offsite sedimentation, according to the plan amendment.
Reclamation
In September of 2020, EOG and Kraemer began the earthmoving process to remove and place the material. Grading and topsoil placement was completed in July of 2021, with seeding and mulching being completed later in July of 2021.
The site has mostly stabilized and has a robust cover of vegetation and minimal areas of the site require active maintenance in 2023, according to the plan amendment.
The purpose of the reclamation plan amendment is to address updates related to wetland mitigation and final reclamation certification criteria. The updates are necessary to address deficiencies in the 2009 reclamation plan, according to the plan amendment.
Wetlands
Canadian Sand and Proppants Inc. contracted with Short Elliott Hendrickson (EH) in 2008 to conduct two wetland delineations and received concurrence from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, according to the plan amendment.
The wetland delineations were also provided to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which determined the wetlands were isolated and not under the jurisdiction of the Army Corps of Engineers.
After discussions with the landowner, EOG and Kraemer decided to purchase wetland banking credits in lieu of onsite wetland mitigation.
Kraemer contacted the DNR in October of 2021 about wetland banking credits, but the DNR told Kraemer there was no permit initially provided in 2008, which means there is no permit to satisfy and no place to keep wetland banking credits, according to the plan amendment.
Kraemer continued to seek guidance from the DNR on wetland mitigation without an existing permit and received the following response from the DNR:
“The department has reviewed the information regarding the existing records of Canadian Sand Proppants Inc. and discussed the reclamation plan. Based on department records, a wetland delineation was concurred in 2008 and guidance was given regarding the wetland regulations at the time. The department has determined that a new application for a wetland permit would not be required for the mining activities which appear to have begun between 2008-2011. Therefore, the department is not involved in mitigation requirements,” according to the plan amendment.
Since there are no wetland mitigation requirements, there will be no wetland mitigation performed during the final reclamation. The section of the 2009 reclamation plan pertaining to wetland monitoring and mitigation no longer apply, the plan amendment states.
Final criteria
To be consistent with NR135.19 (4)(g), the S&S Mine site will be considered successfully reclaimed when a sustainable stand of vegetation with sustainable soil characters has been established which supports post mining land use.
When certification of successful reclamation has been received, use and management of the site will pass to the landowners, the plan amendment states.
Conditions will include that vegetation reaches approximately 70 percent of the ground cover averaged across the site, and the noxious and invasive plant species are controlled to approximately 10 percent averaged across the site but to the highest degree of control using mowing best management practices.
Mowing activities will cover the site to the extent practicable although there are areas where mowing cannot take place, such as wet areas near ponds or in drainage ways with rip-rap, the plan amendment states.
