Environmental cleanup money to reach Nevada by Feb. 6
Submitted by editor on Fri, 01/23/2015 - 4:05pm
CARSON CITY, Nev. – Nevada will soon receive 60 percent of its allocated settlement amount of more than $1 billion to be used by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection for contaminant cleanup efforts in Nevada.
The settlement with Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, parent company of Kerr-McGee Corporation, will provide the financial resources needed for long term remediation at industrial sites in Henderson and two smaller sites near Pioche. The funds will be used to continue the remediation and eradication of perchlorate contamination at the soil source, along with ongoing groundwater treatment, all to ensure no contaminant migration reaches Lake Mead and on to the Colorado River.
The Anadarko settlement, which totals about $5 billion for multiple sites across the country, was first announced in April 2014. The settlement was then required to receive approval by bankruptcy and district courts within the jurisdiction of the settlement. Those approvals have been received and the settlement is now final and not subject to further appeal. The settlement funds will be transferred from Anadarko to the nationwide litigation trust today, with the first transfer to individual projects and/or states by February 26. The remaining 40% of the funds will be held by the litigation trust while the potential for applicable taxes is fully evaluated.
State cleanup activities since 1997 have reduced the perchlorate concentration in Lake Mead to levels well below current drinking water advisory levels. The settlement will enable the state to address the former Kerr Mc Gee site near Henderson, Nevada – with about $1.1 billion earmarked for that cleanup – along with $6,800,000 to be provided to two sites in Lincoln County, the Caselton and Bristol projects.
“The Division of Environmental Protection began work immediately after the settlement announcement in anticipation of the increased funding,” said Leo M. Drozdoff, P.E., Director of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. “The agency brought together a team of scientists and engineers with significant experience working on cleanup and water projects in southern Nevada. Already the group has identified more than $1 billion in work and stands ready to move forward immediately.”
Nevada is now able to evaluate and implement a much wider range of cleanup options to enhance water quality and address the perchlorate contamination than prior to the settlement. The pace of cleanup will also be accelerated by decades.
“What NDEP was able to do before was to contain the situation. Public health and drinking water was protected,” said Dr. Colleen Cripps, Administrator of the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection. “But with these resources, we will now be able to not just contain, but eliminate, any future threats from this contamination. It is truly a game changer for Nevada.”
Additional measures can now be taken to eliminate the remaining underground sources of contamination feeding the plume, as well as more complete treatment of plume areas with groundwater cleanup systems. Starting immediately, the existing system will be optimized to remove more than 300 additional pounds of contamination per day.
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