Comments (5) | Add a comment
Lawsuit aims to block expansion of NV Energy landfill
Tools
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
An Indian tribe and a national environmental group have filed a lawsuit to block the expansion of a landfill for coal-ash waste at a NV Energy power plant near Moapa.
The Moapa Band of Paiutes and the Sierra Club contend that blowing coal ash dust and polluted water from the landfill are already contaminating the environment and causing health problems for nearby residents.
"The permitted expansion, unless it is stopped, will vastly compound the damage," said attorney Dan Galpern, who filed the lawsuit in District Court on Monday afternoon.
The lawsuit targets the Southern Nevada Health District and its board of directors, which signed off last month on a final permit clearing NV Energy to expand.
Though the new part of the landfill will be lined and capped, Galpern said NV Energy's expansion plans do nothing to improve the current landfill, which he described as "a conveyor belt of waste going into the environment."
There are tribal members living about a half mile away from the site, close enough to "smell it and taste it," he said.
"When the wind blows from the south, the ash blows into the homes and the hair and the food of my clients," Galpern said.
Meanwhile, rainfall and the water used to control dust at the site washes toxic metals and coal-ash compounds into the nearby Muddy River flow system, he said.
"State law is clear: The Board of Health is not entitled to license a public nuisance."
Spokeswoman Jennifer Sizemore said health district officials had not seen the lawsuit as of Monday night, but the agency does not comment on ongoing litigation anyway.
NV Energy spokesman Mark Severts said utility officials couldn't comment on a lawsuit they had yet to read, but he rejected the underlying allegations of environmental contamination.
Severts said the ash and other material that go to the landfill are deemed "nonhazardous" and "nontoxic" under state and federal law.
He said the planned expansion includes strict protective measures "unique to Nevada" and will move existing waste ponds one mile away from the Muddy River and about two miles farther away from tribal residents.
Galpern countered that the permit would "grandfather in" existing contamination because it requires no liner beneath the existing landfill to prevent polluted water from leaching into the environment. Worse yet, he said, the permit only requires environmental monitoring for contamination above current levels, a move he said essentially excuses NV Energy for past pollution at the site.
Galpern acknowledged that there have been "no good epidemiological studies" on the health effects of the blowing dust, but tribal members blame the landfill and neighboring power plant for headaches, nosebleeds, respiratory problems and other ailments.
That gives the tribe and the Sierra Club another reason to fight the permit: Expanding the landfill would help extend the life of the aging, coal-fired Reid Gardner Generating Station, which first went on line in 1965.
The Moapa Band of Paiutes includes about 300 members, roughly half of whom live on the reservation near the power plant.
With a final permit now in hand, NV Energy plans to finish its design and engineering plans for the expansion and get ready to start construction, Severts said.
Trending topics:
Comments
Terms & Conditions
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The Review-Journal does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please use the Report Abuse button.
Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 24 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
DISCLAIMER: I do not work for NVEnergy or have any business with them. As an informed engineer and scientist, I can see that this article and the comments here is another example of misinformation from people that don't know what they are talking about. Ash from this coal fired power plant is not by definition hazardous waste and will not harm the environment. It does not cause cancer. By law, this ash passes a test called a TCLP: Toxicity Characteristic Leachate Procedure. It's a test for all the bad things that cause cancer. It passes the TCLP. Please note that this ash is also recycled in the western USA by INDIAN TRIBE owned cement companies like Phoenix Cement to make pozzolanic cement. The cement is in the floor of your homes, your driveways, streets, schools, etc. Ever hear of the Roman Coliseum? It is built with pozzolanic ash from nearby volcanoes...chemically the same stuff that will be landfilled. In the olden days, this ash was used to line tracks in High School and University stadiums...ever hear of cinder tracks? Hello? Nobody can taste the ash as the article states because there of serious dust controls put in place. No ash contaminates the water table because the ash repository is lined with clay and rubber. There are test wells to monitor any potential leaks, too! People who complain about landfilling ash from coal fired power plants are at best misinformed. All of this information is available to anyone who wants to visit the US EPA website.
Call Erin Brokovich.
Coal ash waste is wholesome, delicious, nutritious, and helps build strong bodies 12 ways!
HEY TimeRanger. Lets move the toxic dump next to your house. No? Don't like that idea? Well the Moapa Tribe doesn't want to live next to it either.
Disconnect Tribal lands from the grid, then NV Power won't have to produce as much electricity, negating the need for increased landfill space.