Recent heavy rains have breached a holding pond at a frac sand mining facility in Barron County.
The mining and processing facility owned by Source Energy near the city of Cameron is under investigation after reports of sediment leaking into a nearby creek. Department of Natural Resources industrial sand mining specialist Roberta Walls said they’re working to figure out what went wrong.
“It sounds like there may have been a berm failure,” said Walls.
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The spill was reported last Thursday after upwards of 5 inches of rain fell in the area.
Walls said, this incident notwithstanding, the overall number of spills at frac sand mines in the state have been decreasing.
“Quite a few of the companies have found the appropriate best management practices to use and have had the opportunity to get those installed and stabilize the areas,” she said.
There were multiple sediment spills at mines in 2013, leading to more than $200,000 in fines.
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