Governor Brian Sandoval has announced that he is including the post-World War II era copper mine in the priority list of the nation's most polluted Superfund sites. Nevada has previously junked the idea.
Now that the mine is on the list, the Anaconda mine in Yerington which is about 80 miles southeast of Reno will be the subject to federal help which will contain the pollution. In addition to this, the site will be eligible to get 90 percent of the tens of millions of dollars that will be needed to start the cleanup drive.
Sandoval told the EPA that he was still reluctant at first to support the listing due to the resistance of some local businesses and other community leaders. He said these people are concerned about the effect it will have on the value of the property in the area as per ABC News.
As reported by Reno Gazette-Journal, Sandoval said despite their best efforts, the state and other local stakeholders have not been able to secure an agreement for a public-private fund to create a solution. He added that this is the reason why the state has reluctantly agreed with the NPL listing process.
The adjacent rural sites in the area got a $19.5 million settlement from companies that were accused of covering up the contamination of drinking water wells in 2013. According to Kolo8 News, the ARCO Corporation is the one who is financially responsible for the $200 million dollar cleanup of the original pit mine. The secondary cleaning which includes the tailings, however, was done by Arimetco which is now non-operational.
According to Jared Blumenfeld, EPA regional administrator, the immediate threat is the 90 million gallons of the acidic solution that Arimetco left behind which could possibly contaminate their water system. He added that immediate management is needed to prevent leakage from storage ponds as well as possible overflows. The cleanup is expected to start anytime next year.
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