Triple PG Sand Mine Agrees to Stop Dredging Until Trial Next June

Triple PG Sand Development, LLC and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton agreed to a temporary injunction on Friday, November 25, 2019. The giant mine between Caney and White Oak Creeks agreed to stop dredging while it finds a way to engineer permanent fixes to its dikes. The dikes have breached repeatedly in numerous places. And the mine has left some breaches open for years.

Triple PG Sand Mine dike breech into White Oak Creek. This is the third time this year.

Triple PG’s process wastewater has poured into the drinking water supply for two million people. The State is suing the mine for more than a million dollars.

Triple PG Trial Set for Next June

The judge has set the trial for June 22, 2020. That should give Triple PG time to engineer a fix. It should also give time a chance to test the repairs.

Terms of Triple PG Injunction

Read the full text of the agreed temporary injunction here.

Under terms of the injunction, this dredge will remain idle until trial in June 22nd of 2020.

Key elements of the agreement:

  • No dredging.
  • No discharges of process wastewater.
  • Defendant must hydraulically isolate industrial waste with berms.
  • Berms shall be constructed to halt influx of water from adjacent creeks.
  • Defendant will hire a professional engineer to ensure berms prevent future discharges during rain events.
  • Defendant agrees to comply with Texas Water Code 26.121 (unauthorized discharges).
  • Make sure the berms work or reclaim the dredge ponds.
  • Provide a proposed plan to TCEQ within 90 days.

Good News for East Fork Residents

All this represents good news for the people on Caney Creek and the East Fork. Recent storms have left both clogged with sand, at least some of which washed out of the mine.

Sand inundated thirty acres of East End Park for the second time in two years and destroyed about a mile of trails. Repair costs could exceed $80,000 for just a portion of the trails. KSA will abandon the Eagle Point trail permanently.

People directly south of the mine in Walden Woods should rejoice. They may finally get the protection from this mine that they should have had all along.

Reportedly, Triple PG is dry-mining frack sand and working down its stockpile to stay in business while it makes repairs.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/28/2019

821 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 70 since Imelda

The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.