The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) recently shared its top conservation and preservation accomplishments from 2018, as well as its planned 2019 milestones:
2018 Accomplishments
- Among the first in the nation to use funding from the Volkswagen settlement to fund vehicle pollution reduction projects. $6.6 million has leveraged more than $9.4 million from project partners.
- Eliminated the permit renewal backlog to ensure mine operation permits were up-to-date and protective of water quality.
- With project partners, NDEP’s water quality program met its first five-year milestone for reducing fine sediment to restore Lake Tahoe clarity.
- Launched a new program to provide grant funding to prevent leaks from underground fuel tanks.
- Provided $1.5 million to the town of Hawthorne for the operation of an engineered wetlands facility for wastewater treatment.
- Provided funding and technical assistance to school districts to complete testing for lead in drinking water in 330 elementary schools throughout Nevada, ensuring that lead in drinking water in these schools is below EPA health based levels.
2019 Upcoming Milestones
- Launch an innovative system to clean up polluted groundwater at the Las Vegas Maryland Square Perchloroethylene (PCE) Site, a former drycleaner site with historic PCE releases.
- Commence the first phase of the Anaconda Mine Site cleanup near Yerington, where pollution from prior mining operations impacts land and water quality.
