CANISTEO MINE PIT PROJECT
Written by Margaret A. Haapoja
Photography by Bob Norgord
Molly and Dean Randall have been complaining about water in their basement for 18 years—ever since they bought their house below the wall of the Canisteo Mine pit in the northwestern corner of Bovey. “Over the years the water just kept getting worse down there,” says Molly. “We had drain tile put in because we’d been flooded several times. We’ve replaced several sump pumps, and the last time anybody actually stayed in our basement was ten years ago. The cement floor in our new garage cracked, and the floor of our screenhouse heaved so badly we’re just going to tear it down. Our basement floor has cracked extensively, and my husband’s down there twice a day wet-vacuuming.”
Like others in their corner of town, the Randalls are experiencing water problems because of the rising water level in the Canisteo mine pit. A railroad line running along the edge of the Canisteo pit was shut down in 2004 out of safety concerns, and in June 2008 the Itasca County sheriff held a series of public preparedness meetings in case of a pit water emergency. Officials have studied the rising water in the pit for more than a decade trying to arrive at a solution, and well over half a million dollars--as well as hours of volunteer in-kind work--has been spent.
Meanwhile folks are frustrated at the lack of action. “State bonding for the pit was passed last spring, and here it is a year later,” says Bovey mayor Deb Tryboyevich, referring to $3.5 million designated by the 2008 legislature in state capital funding to Western Mesabi Mine Planning Board (WMMPB) for construction of a pit outflow system. The WWMPB will not be able to access that grant unless the DNR Commissioner approves the project, and then the DNR will be responsible for long term operation and maintenance of the system when it is complete. “With the construction season in northern Minnesota, you’ve got to scramble. There are a lot of water problems in town. Enstrom’s Studio and a lot of residences all along First and Second street are infiltrated with water. And our turn-back funding for the highway 169 bypass also is on delay now because of the water under the existing highway. A solution is long overdue.”
Miners quit the Canisteo iron mine in 1985 and pulled the pumps. Since then rain and groundwater have been flooding in, raising the pit level dramatically and forming a lake nearly five miles long just north of Bovey, Coleraine and Taconite. The current pit water level stands at approximately 1314 feet above mean sea level, and the lowest pit wall elevation is 1324 feet. Basements in much of the lower part of Bovey are at about 1295 feet.
In 2004 nine possible courses of action were identified and studied, according to the Board’s Interim Coordinator, Doug Learmont, and both IRR and the DNR were heavily involved in the process. At that time the WMMPB favored a plan that involved directing the water from the pit into Trout Lake with siphons. ”Any plan that was dependent upon siphons to be continually operated after construction was just not viable because of the cost of maintaining them indefinitely into the future,” says Craig Engwall, Northeast Regional Supervisor with the DNR in Grand Rapids.
In August 2007, DNR Commissioner Mark Holsten visited the Canisteo pit and met with representatives of the WWMPB and other interested parties at the Itasca County Courthouse. In February 2008, a DNR staff hydrologist proposed a plan that would change the outflow system and direct water from the pit to Prairie River instead of to Trout Lake. The Commissioner returned to the area in March 2009 to interact with local groups and explain his position.
Meanwhile at the WMMPB, a plan was evolving that would modify the 2004 preferred plan by changing from a siphon to a gravity flow from pit to Trout Lake and temporarily pumping from the pit to Holman Lake since the level of water in the pit had risen significantly in the interim. “What’s planned is to pump down the pit level as near to bedrock as possible, but at least to 1295 feet. We would pump water from the east end of the pit to Holman Lake,” says Dave Lotti, chair of the WMMPB. “Then we’d construct a gravity overflow at 1295 feet to Trout Lake and a second outflow system to move water out of Trout Lake to the Swan River. Right now we’re in the process of working with the Corps of Engineers and the DNR on permitting.”
At the same time, both Wenck Engineering and the DNR suggested an experimental French drain system be installed in the lower section of Bovey. Engwall describes the drain tile system as one of perforated pipe that would intercept ground water that flows from the pit to the basements in Bovey. “The biggest advantage is that it would have immediate relief once it’s in,” he says, “whereas the pump down really wouldn’t have any noticeable effect on those basements until at least two years out.”
Cost of the projects is the main sticking point, and there is some difference of opinion about proposed cost estimates. The WMMPB plans to apply to the IRR for an additional $2 million to cover any extra costs, and they will request an additional $100,000 from the DNR and $25,000 from the IRR for the transition period until release of the designated $3.5 million.
While there is still work to do, Engwall is confident they are close to reaching an agreement that will satisfy all parties. “Our goal is to come to a solution that the WMMPB and the DNR can live with, so it’s not Prairie River versus Trout Lake,” he says. “It’s what can we do that comes in within budget which is acceptable to both entities.”
Photography by Bob NorgordMolly and Dean Randall have been complaining about water in their basement for 18 years—ever since they bought their house below the wall of the Canisteo Mine pit in the northwestern corner of Bovey. “Over the years the water just kept getting worse down there,” says Molly. “We had drain tile put in because we’d been flooded several times. We’ve replaced several sump pumps, and the last time anybody actually stayed in our basement was ten years ago. The cement floor in our new garage cracked, and the floor of our screenhouse heaved so badly we’re just going to tear it down. Our basement floor has cracked extensively, and my husband’s down there twice a day wet-vacuuming.”
Like others in their corner of town, the Randalls are experiencing water problems because of the rising water level in the Canisteo mine pit. A railroad line running along the edge of the Canisteo pit was shut down in 2004 out of safety concerns, and in June 2008 the Itasca County sheriff held a series of public preparedness meetings in case of a pit water emergency. Officials have studied the rising water in the pit for more than a decade trying to arrive at a solution, and well over half a million dollars--as well as hours of volunteer in-kind work--has been spent.
Meanwhile folks are frustrated at the lack of action. “State bonding for the pit was passed last spring, and here it is a year later,” says Bovey mayor Deb Tryboyevich, referring to $3.5 million designated by the 2008 legislature in state capital funding to Western Mesabi Mine Planning Board (WMMPB) for construction of a pit outflow system. The WWMPB will not be able to access that grant unless the DNR Commissioner approves the project, and then the DNR will be responsible for long term operation and maintenance of the system when it is complete. “With the construction season in northern Minnesota, you’ve got to scramble. There are a lot of water problems in town. Enstrom’s Studio and a lot of residences all along First and Second street are infiltrated with water. And our turn-back funding for the highway 169 bypass also is on delay now because of the water under the existing highway. A solution is long overdue.”
Miners quit the Canisteo iron mine in 1985 and pulled the pumps. Since then rain and groundwater have been flooding in, raising the pit level dramatically and forming a lake nearly five miles long just north of Bovey, Coleraine and Taconite. The current pit water level stands at approximately 1314 feet above mean sea level, and the lowest pit wall elevation is 1324 feet. Basements in much of the lower part of Bovey are at about 1295 feet.
In 2004 nine possible courses of action were identified and studied, according to the Board’s Interim Coordinator, Doug Learmont, and both IRR and the DNR were heavily involved in the process. At that time the WMMPB favored a plan that involved directing the water from the pit into Trout Lake with siphons. ”Any plan that was dependent upon siphons to be continually operated after construction was just not viable because of the cost of maintaining them indefinitely into the future,” says Craig Engwall, Northeast Regional Supervisor with the DNR in Grand Rapids.
In August 2007, DNR Commissioner Mark Holsten visited the Canisteo pit and met with representatives of the WWMPB and other interested parties at the Itasca County Courthouse. In February 2008, a DNR staff hydrologist proposed a plan that would change the outflow system and direct water from the pit to Prairie River instead of to Trout Lake. The Commissioner returned to the area in March 2009 to interact with local groups and explain his position.
Meanwhile at the WMMPB, a plan was evolving that would modify the 2004 preferred plan by changing from a siphon to a gravity flow from pit to Trout Lake and temporarily pumping from the pit to Holman Lake since the level of water in the pit had risen significantly in the interim. “What’s planned is to pump down the pit level as near to bedrock as possible, but at least to 1295 feet. We would pump water from the east end of the pit to Holman Lake,” says Dave Lotti, chair of the WMMPB. “Then we’d construct a gravity overflow at 1295 feet to Trout Lake and a second outflow system to move water out of Trout Lake to the Swan River. Right now we’re in the process of working with the Corps of Engineers and the DNR on permitting.”
At the same time, both Wenck Engineering and the DNR suggested an experimental French drain system be installed in the lower section of Bovey. Engwall describes the drain tile system as one of perforated pipe that would intercept ground water that flows from the pit to the basements in Bovey. “The biggest advantage is that it would have immediate relief once it’s in,” he says, “whereas the pump down really wouldn’t have any noticeable effect on those basements until at least two years out.”
Cost of the projects is the main sticking point, and there is some difference of opinion about proposed cost estimates. The WMMPB plans to apply to the IRR for an additional $2 million to cover any extra costs, and they will request an additional $100,000 from the DNR and $25,000 from the IRR for the transition period until release of the designated $3.5 million.
While there is still work to do, Engwall is confident they are close to reaching an agreement that will satisfy all parties. “Our goal is to come to a solution that the WMMPB and the DNR can live with, so it’s not Prairie River versus Trout Lake,” he says. “It’s what can we do that comes in within budget which is acceptable to both entities.”
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