Update on Fly Ash And Why North Dakota Doesn't Use Fly Ash From South Dakota -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Link here to the Bismarck Tribune:

Burning lignite in power plants creates a fly ash residue that - turns out - is perfect and relatively cheap for solidifying drilling waste buried in pits next to oil wells.

Sales of fly ash are turning into a decent source of revenue for power plants out in Coal Country. Not only do power producers not have to pay to dispose of the ash - oil companies pay good money to take it off their hands, mix it into drill cuttings and bury it for them.

Data points:

• Bought for $100 per ton and resold for $250 per ton, bagged, shipped, and delivered.
• South Dakota fly ash not used because it is slightly radioactive.