The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection are accepting public comments on proposed permit modifications that would see the U.S. Ecology hazardous waste facility located outside of Beatty, Nevada, expand by 47.3 acres.
The U.S. Ecology property spans 480 acres, and the expanded landfill, which would handle hazardous waste and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), would be entirely contained within that area.
The landfill currently contains hazardous wastes like solvents, pesticides, chlorinated hydrocarbons, metals, remediation wastes and PCBs, all of which come from sources such as industrial operations and environmental cleanup sites. U.S. Ecology is charged with ensuring that the waste is safely handled and contained, which it does through careful placement and environmental contamination monitoring. The landfill was the site of a fire caused by rainwater seepage interacting with subsurface metallic sodium in October 2015, but that area of the property is not managed by U.S. Ecology.
The agencies are collecting public comments until June 10, after which they will review and consider them before notifying those interested in the final decision.
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