In the fall of 2008, Barr and PolyMet identified four sources of historical Colby Lake water quality data. Those sources are listed below:

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1 External Memorandum To: Dave Blaha, ERM From: Miguel Wong and Katie Wenigmann Project: 23/ c: Jim Scott, PolyMet; Stuart Arkley, MDNR; John Borovsky, Barr PolyMet has not been requested to collect Colby Lake water quality data by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) or Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), nor was sampling of Colby Lake required in the final Scoping Decision Document (SDD) of the NorthMet Project. Therefore, PolyMet did not have any Colby Lake water quality data to report as average measured conditions in Tables 5-25 to 5-27 and 7-22 to 7-24of RS74A Draft-02 (Barr, September 2008). However, in fall of 2008 Barr and PolyMet concluded it would be advantageous to collect baseline water quality data for Colby Lake to validate some of the assumptions used in the deterministic water quality predictions for Colby Lake presented in RS74A Draft-02. This memorandum presents water quality data from sampling of Colby Lake by Barr on November 19, 2008 in Table 1. The five locations proposed for sampling (LCy-1 to LCy-5) and the five locations actually sampled (LC-1 to LC-5) are shown in Figure 1. The precise locations where the sampling took place differ from the proposed sampling locations because lake conditions prevented safe access to the originally proposed sampling locations. When the sampling crew arrived on site on November 19, 2008, Colby Lake had recently frozen over. The ice prohibited travel by boat, and the ice was too thin to allow foot traffic to the proposed sampling locations. Therefore, samples were collected at five sites close to shore (see Figure 1), at locations where the depth to bottom was approximately 4 feet. In the fall of 2008, Barr and PolyMet identified four sources of historical Colby Lake water quality data. Those sources are listed below: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Copper-Nickel Study (Siegel and Ericson, 1980), P:\Mpls\23 MN\69\ \_MovedFromMpls_P\WO 015 EIS Rpts Studies\RS74 Water Quality Modeling\for ERM\Colby Lake WQ Data doc

2 Page: 2 USGS Water Quality website ( MPCA s Environmental Data Access (EDA) website ( and Minnesota Power. The historical data is presented in Tables 2 to 7. The data included in each of these sources are not exclusive to that source, except for the Minnesota Power data. Data collected from the USGS website includes some but not all of the sampling included in the Copper-Nickel Study. The MPCA s EDA data set includes data presented in the Copper-Nickel Study, data included in the USGS data set, as well as more recent data (although the recent data does not include all parameters of interest for the NorthMet Project). Table 8 compares the November 18, 2008 sampling of the Partridge River and the November 19, 2008 sampling of Colby Lake for parameters included in both samplings. These concurrent samplings in the Partridge River and Colby Lake were coordinated to allow validation of the basic assumption used in the water quality modeling presented in RS74A Draft-02 (Barr, 2008); that is, to validate the use of baseline water quality in SW-005 as a proxy of baseline water quality in Colby Lake. The results of the concurrent sampling indicate that the concentration of some parameters increases going downstream in the Partridge River (e.g., aluminum, copper, and nickel), while others decrease in concentration (e.g., chloride, hardness, calcium, magnesium and molybdenum). Regardless, Colby Lake and the Partridge River directly upstream from Colby Lake (SW-005) have very similar water quality, with the exception of lead. The concentration of lead measured in the Partridge River upstream of Colby Lake (SW-005) was 2.4 µg/l; lead was not detected in Colby Lake (detection limit of 0.5 µg/l).

3 Table 1. Summary of Colby Lake Sampling on November 19, 2008 Location Units LC-1 LC-2 LC-3 LC-4 LC-5 Min Max Average Field Data Dissolved Oxygen mg/l Oxidation Reduction Potential mv ph Specific Conductivity at 25 C umho/cm Water Temperature C General Parameters Alkalinity, bicarbonate as CaCO 3 mg/l Alkalinity, total mg/l Chemical Oxygen Demand mg/l Chloride mg/l Fluoride mg/l 0.1 < < Hardness, total mg/l Nitrate + Nitrite mg/l Nitrogen, ammonia as N mg/l < <0.1 < Phosphorus, total mg/l Solids, total dissolved mg/l Solids, total suspended mg/l < Sulfate mg/l Carbon, total organic mg/l Metals (total) Aluminum µg/l Antimony µg/l <0.5 <0.5 <0.5 <0.5 < Arsenic µg/l <2 <2 <2 <2 < Barium µg/l Beryllium µg/l <0.2 <0.2 <0.2 <0.2 < Boron µg/l 61.1 <50 < < Cadmium µg/l <0.2 <0.2 <0.2 <0.2 < Calcium mg/l Chromium µg/l <1 <1 <1 <1 < Cobalt µg/l < Copper µg/l Iron µg/l 1,140 1,250 1,160 1,110 1,050 1,050 1,250 1,142 Lead µg/l <0.5 <0.5 <0.5 <0.5 < Magnesium mg/l Manganese µg/l Mercury µg/l Mercury methyl µg/l Molybdenum µg/l Nickel µg/l Potassium µg/l 1, , , Selenium µg/l <1 <1 <1 <1 < Silver µg/l <0.2 <0.2 <0.2 <0.2 < Sodium µg/l 3,420 2,900 3,290 3,480 3,140 2,900 3,480 3,246 Strontium µg/l Thallium µg/l 0.46 <0.4 <0.4 <0.4 < Titanium µg/l <10 <10 <10 <10 < Vanadium µg/l <1 <1 <1 <1 < Zinc µg/l <6 <6 <6 <6 < Metals (dissolved) Aluminum, dissolved µg/l Cobalt, dissolved µg/l <0.2 <0.2 < < Copper, dissolved µg/l Iron, dissolved µg/l Nickel, dissolved µg/l Zinc, dissolved µg/l <6 <6 <6 <6 < P:\Mpls\23 MN\69\ \_MovedFromMpls_P\WO 015 EIS Rpts Studies\RS74 Water Quality Modeling\for ERM\Colby Lake WQ Data doc

4 Table 2. Summary of Copper-Nickel Study data collected at Colby Lake (LCy-1) in 1976 and 1977 Parameter Unit Min Max Median Coefficient of Variation (%) No. of Alkalinity mg/l Aluminum µg/l Arsenic µg/l Cadmium µg/l Cobalt µg/l Copper µg/l Color SPU Iron µg/l Lead µg/l Mercury µg/l Nickel µg/l ph Secchi Disk meters Spec. Conductance umho/cm Sulfate mg/l Total N µg/l Total P µg/l TOC mg/l Zinc µg/l P:\Mpls\23 MN\69\ \_MovedFromMpls_P\WO 015 EIS Rpts Studies\RS74 Water Quality Modeling\for ERM\Colby Lake WQ Data doc

5 Page: 5 Table 3. Summary of Copper-Nickel Study data collected at Colby Lake (LCy-2) in 1976 and 1977 Parameter Unit Min Max Median Coefficient of Variation (%) No. of Alkalinity mg/l Aluminum µg/l Arsenic µg/l Cadmium µg/l Cobalt µg/l Copper µg/l Color SPU Iron µg/l Lead µg/l Mercury µg/l Nickel µg/l ph Secchi Disk meters Spec. Conductance umho/cm Sulfate mg/l Total N µg/l Total P µg/l TOC mg/l Zinc µg/l

6 Page: 6 Table 4. Summary of USGS data collected at Colby Lake (LCy-1) in 1976 Parameter Units Min Max Average No. of Ammonia mg/l Remark Cadmium µg/l Presence verified but not quantified Calcium (filtered) mg/l Calcium (unfiltered) mg/l Chloride mg/l Cobalt µg/l Not Detected (< 0.3 µg/l) Color Pt-Co Copper µg/l Presence verified but not quantified Dissolved Oxygen mg/l Fluoride mg/l Hardness mg/l Iron (filtered) µg/l Iron (unfiltered) µg/l Lead µg/l Presence verified but not quantified Magnesium (filtered) mg/l Magnesium (unfiltered) mg/l Manganese µg/l Mercury µg/l Not Detected (< 0.5 µg/l) Nickel µg/l Presence verified but not quantified Nitrate + Nitrite mg/l Orthophosphate mg/l Not Detected (< 0.01 mg/l) ph Potassium mg/l Phosphorus mg/l Silica mg/l Sodium mg/l Specific Conductance us/cm Sulfate mg/l Turbidity NTU Zinc µg/l Presence verified but not quantified

7 Page: 7 Table 5. Summary of USGS data collected at Colby Lake (LCy-2) in 1976 Parameter Units Min Max Average No. of Ammonia mg/l Remark Cadmium µg/l Presence verified but not quantified Calcium (filtered) mg/l Calcium (unfiltered) mg/l Chloride mg/l Cobalt µg/l ND (< 0.3 µg/l) Color Pt-Co Copper µg/l Presence verified but not quantified Dissolved Oxygen mg/l Fluoride mg/l Hardness mg/l Iron (filtered) µg/l Iron (unfiltered) µg/l Lead µg/l Presence verified but not quantified Magnesium (filtered) mg/l Magnesium (unfiltered) mg/l Manganese µg/l Mercury µg/l ND (< 0.5 µg/l) Nickel µg/l Presence verified but not quantified Nitrate + Nitrite mg/l Orthophosphate mg/l ph Potassium mg/l Phosphorus mg/l Silica mg/l Sodium mg/l Specific Conductance us/cm Sulfate mg/l Turbidity NTU Zinc µg/l Presence verified but not quantified

8 Page: 8 Table 6. Summary of Colby Lake data available from MPCA s EDA website from 1976 to 2007 Parameter 1 Unit Min Max Average Median No. of Alkalinity, Total mg/l CaCO Aluminum µg/l Arsenic µg/l < Cadmium µg/l Calcium (as CaCO3) mg/l CaCO Carbon, Total Organic mg/l Chloride mg/l Chlorophyll a µg/l Cobalt µg/l < Copper µg/l Depth, Secchi meters Dissolved Oxygen mg/l Fluoride mg/l Hardness, Ca + Mg mg/l CaCO Iron µg/l Lead µg/l Magnesium mg/l Manganese µg/l Mercury µg/l < Nickel µg/l < Nitrogen (NH3) + (NH4) mg/l Nitrogen, Kjeldahl mg/l Nitrogen, (NO2) + (NO3) mg/l < Nitrogen, Nitrite (NO2) mg/l < ph Phenols (mixture) µg/l < Pheophytin-a µg/l Phosphorus as P mg/l < Orthophosphate as P mg/l Oxygen Reduction Potential mv Potassium mg/l Selenium µg/l <0.8 <0.8 <0.8 <0.8 2 Silica mg/l Sodium mg/l Solids, Dissolved mg/l Solids, Total Suspended mg/l Solids, Volatile mg/l < Specific Conductance us/cm Sulfate (SO4) as SO4 mg/l Turbidity NTU Zinc µg/l All metals are total.

9 Page: 9 Table 7. Summary of data provided by Minnesota Power (May 2002 to May 2003) Parameter Units Min Max Average Median (Detections) Aluminum, dissolved µg/l (4) Aluminum, total µg/l (12) Antimony, total 1 µg/l <3.0 <3.0 <3.0 <3.0 3 (0) Arsenic, total µg/l < <2.0 3 (1) Barium, total µg/l < (2) Beryllium, total 1 µg/l <0.2 <0.2 <0.2 <0.2 3 (0) Boron, total µg/l (3) Cadmium, total 1 µg/l <0.2 <0.2 <0.2 <0.2 3 (0) Chromium, total µg/l < (2) Cobalt, dissolved 1 µg/l <1.0 <1.0 <1.0 <1.0 4 (0) Cobalt, total µg/l < < (2) Copper, dissolved µg/l < (2) Copper, total µg/l < (8) Iron, total µg/l 650 3,030 2,103 2,630 3 (3) Lead, total 1 µg/l <1.0 <1.0 <1.0 <1.0 3 (0) Magnesium, dissolved mg/l (4) Magnesium, total mg/l (12) Manganese, total µg/l (3) Molybdenum, total 1 µg/l <5.0 <5.0 <5.0 <5.0 3 (3) Nickel, total µg/l < <5.0 3 (1) Selenium, dissolved 1 µg/l <2.0 <2.0 <2.0 <2.0 4 (0) Selenium, total 1 µg/l <2.0 <2.0 <2.0 < (0) Silver, total 1 µg/l <1.0 <1.0 <1.0 <1.0 2 (0) Thallium, total 1 µg/l <2.0 <2.0 <2.0 <2.0 3 (0) Tin, total µg/l <10.0 <10.0 <10.0 < (0) Titanium, total µg/l <10.0 <10.0 <10.0 < (0) Zinc, total µg/l < (2) 1 Constituent analyzed for but not detected in any sample.

10 Table 8. Comparison of November 2008 Colby Lake and Partridge River Water Quality Sampling Partridge River 1 Colby Lake 2 Parameter Units SW-003 SW-004 SW-005 Partridge River WQ Standard (Class 2B, 3C, 4A, 4B, 5 and 6) Average of 5 Colby Lake WQ Standard (Class 1B, 2Bd, 3C, 4A, 4B, 5 and 6) General Parameters Alkalinity, total mg/l Chloride mg/l Hardness, total mg/l Phosphorus, total mg/l Solids, total dissolved mg/l (500) Solids, total suspended mg/l Sulfate mg/l (250) Carbon, total organic mg/l Metals (total) Aluminum µg/l Cadmium µg/l <0.2 <0.2 < < Calcium mg/l Chromium µg/l <1.0 <1.0 < < Cobalt µg/l <0.2 < Copper µg/l < Lead µg/l <0.5 < < Magnesium mg/l Manganese µg/l (50) Mercury µg/l Molybdenum µg/l Nickel µg/l Zinc µg/l <6.0 <6.0 < < Bold indicates exceeds the Minnesota surface water quality standard. Numbers in parentheses indicated Secondary Maximum Containment Levels (smcl). Hardness based standards for cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel, silver and zinc are based on a hardness of 50 mg/l. 1 Partridge River samples were collected on November 18, Colby Lake samples were collected on November 19, P:\Mpls\23 MN\69\ \_MovedFromMpls_P\WO 015 EIS Rpts Studies\RS74 Water Quality Modeling\for ERM\Colby Lake WQ Data doc

11 To: From: Subject: Date: Project: Page: Dave Blaha, ERM Miguel Wong and Katie Wenigmann, Barr Colby Lake Water Quality April 7, / Figure Colby Lake Water Sampling Locations (Proposed and Actual)