Residents press Crook County on Knife River operations and alleged well impacts; county and state say investigations ongoing

Dozens of residents raised detailed, repeated concerns about Knife River's aggregate operations, settling-pond management and potential impacts to domestic wells and surface water during the Nov. 5 Crook County Board of Commissioners meeting.

Julie Thompson, a Prineville resident, told the board she had reviewed documents and news reports showing high SNAP enrollment in the state and then shifted to mining concerns; she said the company had buried or altered settling ponds and asked whether county and state agencies would act. "I just think that if you can't follow a little rule, why do you follow a big rule?" Thompson said, referring to permit conditions.

Darren Wachowski reported observing a Knife River truck dumping material from settling ponds onto a haul road and into a cell across the street from his property. "They were emptying the settling ponds... they were dumping all that stuff out on the haul road," Wachowski said. He asked whether the cell in question was the one preserved for sampling under the county's sampling and analysis plan; planning staff said DOGAMI and county reviewers are aware of that concern.

Ed Zimmerly and other residents raised additional questions about reclamation, whether settling ponds on EFU land are an allowable use under the conditional-use permit, and how long disturbed areas would remain unreclaimed. Several residents said they had documented noise, weekend operations and truck parking on the county road near processing operations.

Planning director John Eisler and senior staff said the county has filed enforcement letters, convened meetings with operators and is using code enforcement provisions for aggregate operations that allow fines and, in repeated cases, permit revocation. "As soon as we find there's a black-line violation, we are imposing it," Eisler said; he added the county has tools that can escalate to revocation after repeated proven violations.

Greg Sweetland of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality said state agencies have received dozens of public questions and complaints and that DOGAMI and DEQ are preparing a consolidated response for public posting. He told the board that, based on current information, he was "confident they're not using flocculants" in the domestic well sampling program but that state sampling plans do not necessarily test for every possible chemical. Sweetland said the agencies will post the compiled questions and responses and that some answers would be available within days.

What residents asked for: tighter enforcement of conditional-use permit terms (hours, parking, reclaiming topsoil), assurance that settling-pond management complies with DOGAMI and county permit conditions, and confirmation that domestic wells have not been contaminated. What agencies said: enforcement and investigatory steps are underway; DOGAMI provided a formal letter interpreting permit relationships and county counsel will review legal options for enforcement.

No new county permit revocations or formal restrictions were imposed at the meeting; commissioners and staff said they will continue to pursue compliance, consult county counsel and coordinate with DOGAMI, DEQ and the Oregon Water Resources Department.