TOWN OF COOKS VALLEY
      Special Town Board Meeting
September 18, 2017

The Special Town Board meeting of the Town of Cooks Valley was called to order on Monday September 18, 2017 at the Cooks Valley town hall located at 15751 40th Street at 7:30 pm by Chairman Darrel Fehr.  Supervisors present were David Clements and Matt Borofka.  Other town official present was Victoria Trinko-clerk.
Review of Chippewa Sands non-metallic mining permit with public comment:
Michele Karlstad, Zach Schimmel and Mathew Heath, representatives for Chippewa Sands, gave information about production of the mine in the last year.  They started hiring and opening the mine during the last week of February of 2017.  As of the end of August, they have processed 600,000 tons of wet cut, hauled 400,000 tons of product, and returned 18,000 tons of reject sand to the mine site. 

  1. Chairman Fehr-What are in the different piles?  Chippewa Sands enhanced the wash plant so they have produced a 100 mesh cut whereas previously they processed 20/70 mesh cut.  The rougher wash cut sand is the pile in front of the mine and the finer sand is piled along the bluff to cut down on blowing sand. 
  2. Chairman Fehr- I am concerned about the rate of reclamation.  According to the permit, they were to begin reclaiming in phase two.  Chippewa Sands agreed that was in the permit, but they do not have space to reclaim as do not have storage ponds and can not discharge water off site.  They are working on a new reclamation plan and water storage management plan so they can expand beyond the original mine site.  They hope to have the plan ready by spring that would expand east into Robinson land.  They are in phase three now.  They did phase five before the others and have phase 4, part of phase 5, 6 and 7 left. 
  3. Supervisor Clements-Is there any 100% reclaimed land the town board could look at?  No reclamation is at 100%. 

The board expressed concern about the steepness of the hill being reclaimed and the ability of the material to be held in place.   Chippewa Sands said the reclamation is not as steep or high as the original hill and is within the 3:1, 4:1 ratio required by the County in the reclamation plan.

  1. Supervisor Clements-If you go east, where will you go with the overburden?  Chippewa Sands said the overburden would be replaced to where they were mining reclaiming as they go. The wash plant and road would remain in place if the plan is to go east. 

Chairman Fehr requested Chippewa Sands to have samples of the material coming out of the filter press and the monitoring wells tested twice a year for flocculants and heavy metals.  They can look at the PurFrac permit for a list of metals to test.  Also requested by Chairman Fehr was the materials coming from the filter press be spread more widely and not in a big pile for a long length of time.  Chippewa Sands said the material is mixed and taken to the back of the mine. 
When they finish phase three, they will have more space for storage.  They are very likely to expand east but that would be years to occur. 
Chairman Fehr would like the tires washed before the trucks leave the plant as there is sand down the road.  Chippewa Sands felt that would use more water and run down the road.  They want to buy a new sweeper as the present one is old and is also used in New Auburn.    
 Review of Preferred Sands non-metallic mining permit with public comment: 
Adam Locke, representative of Preferred Sands, reported the mine site is at the status quo of last year.  They hauled out equipment designated for construction on Highway 64 proposed sited and was stored at the 186th Avenue mine site.  Adam Locke checks the site, equipment, ponds weekly and walks the site approximately monthly.  Christien Huppert of the Land Conservation Dept. comes to the mine site every 3-4 months. Dan Masterpole accompanied him on the last visit.  When they walked through the site, they had no concerns about erosion or water storage.  Christien Huppert is coming to the mine site on Friday Sept. 22, 2017 at 1:00 pm.  Chairman Darrel Fehr and Bruce Durand expressed interest in accompanying them on the walk through of the mine site. 
Adam Locke said 95% has been reclaimed on the northwest side of the mine but it is not as high as it should be.  For now, they have grass growing on it but reclamation is not 100% complete. 
Barb Arendt asked how they will drop the overburden.  It will fall down the hill. 
Preferred Sands is conducting quarterly testing for accrylamide. 
Adjourn:  Darrel Fehr made a motion to adjourn at 8:12 pm.  David Clements seconded the motion.  The motion carried 3-0.

 
Typed:  September 19, 2017                                     Respectfully submitted
Approved: October 9, 2017                                                          Victoria Trinko -Town Clerk