Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., says Gov. Brian Sandoval made the right decision in accepting the EPA plan to designate the old Anaconda Mine as a superfund site.
That decision puts the old copper mine on the Superfund National Priority List and should win it federal funding to start reclamation and cleanup of toxic wastes next year.
“For decades this mine sit has sat as an abandoned cesspool of toxic substances,” Reid said in a statement. “The federal government repeatedly offered its help while the state under multiple administrations resisted. I’ve long called for Nevada to concur with this designation and I applaud Governor Sandoval for taking this significant step.”
He said it’s now up to Nevada’s congressional decision to make sure the funding is approved.
It will take an estimated $31 million in federal dollars but could cost Atlantic Richfield, owner of most of the mine site, as much as $100 million to clean everything up.