Huge BMI cleanup plan outlined

Jeffrey Libby

Thursday, June 7, 2001 | 10:38 a.m.

Residential neighborhoods could be built on land that for more than 45 years was a dumping ground for Henderson's largest chemical manufacturers, according to a state plan approved by the Henderson City Council Wednesday night.

The public hearing, required before the state Division of Environmental Protection can issue cleanup permits, sparked no comment. About 75 residents, there on other business, attended the council meeting.

Basic Remediation Co., as negotiated with state engineers, will spend $16 million to $21 million to clean 2,400 acres in the BMI industrial area northeast of Boulder Highway and Lake Mead Drive.

The LandWell Co., the developing arm of BMI, plans to build a master-planned community, including about 7,000 homes and a town center.

"We will not allow anyone ever to be put in harm's way," Dan Stewart, president and CEO of LandWell, said in an interview after the meeting. "One person getting sick would not be worth the whole development. We are serious, serious, about cleaning up the land to the highest standards."

The cleanup plan is the result of more than 10 years of testing monitored by state engineers. They have found evidence of pesticides, arsenic, lead, radioactive isotopes and other contaminants within two former evaporation ponds used by manufacturers since 1941 to dispose of toxic wastewater.

In 1976 Congress passed laws prohibiting the unprotected dumping of hazardous waste. The ponds have remained closed, although Titanium Metals Corp. continues to operate a 100-acre pond, which was built to federal standards.

BRC plans to remove 1.7 million cubic yards of contaminated soil, sending it west by conveyor, under Boulder Highway. The soil will be stored in a 52-acre landfill on the BMI industrial complex just south of Warm Springs Road.

The contaminated dirt would equal about 75,000 loads for single-belly dump truck.

When excavation is complete, the state will oversee another round of tests to ensure the remaining soil is sufficiently clean -- by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards -- for residential development.

"The land will be cleaned up to where we can say it will be safe to have families living out there," Doug Zimmerman, a bureau chief for the state Division of Environmental Protection, said.

Zimmerman also outlined other less stringent cleanup alternatives, including fencing, capping or cleanup with on-site burial. But the approved plan will best ensure human health and safety, Zimmerman said, while also allowing for productive use of the land.

"I grew up in Henderson, and that area was supposed to be off-limits," Mayor Jim Gibson said. "But as kids we skipped rocks and chased lizards in the area, despite the fences. We never did catch any fish."

Noting that the city has monitored negotiations involving the state and LandWell, Gibson said, "It's so critical that we not make mistakes when it comes to these types of remediation."

Basic Remediation Co. has asked the city to annex the 2,400 acres of unincorporated county land as part of the downtown redevelopment area. As recently as March, a portion of the land was being considered for the as-yet unbuilt state college.

The company wants the city to pay as much as $60 million to close 100 acres of active evaporation ponds east of Boulder Highway and open a new facility in the BMI complex. The city has not offered an official response.