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to freeze (2 Tr. Rovey, 216, 228 -230, 232). He described the cumulative effect of the <br />severe freezing conditions, a phenomenon he described as "anchor ice" (id. 216, 230): <br />▪ I found that data did indicate that December or November[,] <br />December[,] January and at least the early part of February was <br />consistently below average. And[,] in other words[,] it was a more severe <br />condition than normal. <br />▪ . [A]nchor ice actually begins to freeze from the ground up or from the <br />bottom of the channel up ... instead of from the top down. I believe if <br />not truly from the bottom of the pond freezing up, [the Outfall No. 016 <br />ponds] are small enough that freezing was occurring from the sides and <br />from the top[,] and virtually once the frozen sediment and water has <br />occupied the space and cut down the volume of detention storage and <br />reduced the amount of retention time, that the mine outflow water that <br />was continuing to go into the ponds[,] that retention time went way down <br />and almost to the point that was zero. In other words, it was a flow <br />through situation. <br />Thus the freezing conditions were such that the ponds failed to retain the sediment - <br />laden minewater discharge (see, id. 214, 238, 243; 1 Tr. Watson, 189, 196 - 197). <br />SNOW REMOVAL/SNOW MELT <br />Before anyone realized that severe freezing conditions had caused the adverse <br />discharge from the Outfall No. 016 ponds, MLRD directed Mid - Continent to clean <br />them, in mid-winter." Prior to 1989, the practice was not to clean these ponds in the <br />12 The operational principal of the ponds was quite simple. Moving water readily <br />carries materials in suspension. Ponds slow or still the water thereby causing it to release <br />materials in suspension. This phenomenon is readily apparent during low water at the inlets <br />to most reservoirs where mudflats are frequently created by solids formerly suspended in the <br />water filling the reservoir. <br />13 Scott Jones testified that when he initially visited the Outfall No. 016 ponds with <br />MLRD representative Anthony Waldren on January 26, 1989, neither Jones nor Waldren were <br />aware that the ponds were frozen. According to Jones' testimony, at that time he and Waldren <br />knew only that "there was a problem with the ponds." (3 Tr. Jones, 96). Jones did not know <br />the Outfall No. 016 ponds were frozen until February 13, after the dragline operations began <br />(id., 60 -62). <br />Mid - Continent Answer Brief <br />8 Appeal No. 93 CA 297 <br />