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  • Reid Gardner Appeal — Water Pollution Control Groundwater Permit NEV91022

Reid Gardner Appeal — Water Pollution Control Groundwater Permit NEV91022

11/04/2010
Appeal Hearing
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Time
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Location
9:30 A.M.
November 4, 2010
Nevada Department of Wildlife, Conference Room A
1100 Valley Road
Reno, NV

SEC Final Decision: Permit Upheld

Hearing Audio, Notices, and Minutes

Background of Appeal

On June 24, 2010 the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) issued groundwater permit NEV91022 to NV Energy for the Reid Gardner station. The Reid Gardner station is a coal fired power plant located in Moapa, Clark County, Nevada. The renewal modification permit authorized discharge of process and other wastewater to eight existing on-site double-lined evaporation ponds and eventually to nine yet-to-be constructed double-lined evaporation ponds in the “Mesa” area of the Reid Gardner station. The permit was subsequently appealed by Sierra Club on July 2, 2010.

  1. First, NDEP failed to provide Sierra Club with adequate notice of its right to appeal the final permit, even though its representatives provided significant comments during public participation.
  2. Second, the “no discharge” permit is insufficient to ensure against pollutant discharge because, for example, industry standards for HDPE dual-lined ponds allow for a certain amount of leakage as part of their design but there is no process or system required by the permit to prevent, detect, or remediate such leakage beyond the second liner.
  3. Third, the permit purports to shift responsibility for soil and groundwater contamination to the Bureau of Corrective Action in contravention of NRS 445A.465.
  4. Fourth, the permit does not protect water quality in the event of accelerated climate change. Although the Bureau of Water Pollution Control states that it lacks regulatory authority regarding climate change, state agencies retain inherent authority and responsibility to maintain the quality of state waters.
  5. Fifth, given the facility’s ongoing violations of previous permits and failure to remediate previous contamination, the permit renewal must be denied, or in the alternative, modified to require rigorous groundwater monitoring under and around the existing and proposed evaporation ponds, as well as to require a sufficient plan to remediate the inevitable contamination.

Procedural History

On July 12, 2010, permittee NV Energy petitioned the SEC for leave to intervene in the appeal, which the SEC granted on September 21, 2010. Upon receipt of NDEP’s request, the SEC ordered briefs and set forth a briefing schedule on September 22, 2010. On October 6, 2010, the Sierra Club filed a motion requesting subpoenas for certain documents, a continuance of the November 4 and 5 hearing, and a preliminary injunction to suspend the effectiveness of the permit and halt construction of new wastewater ponds. The SEC held a preliminary hearing on October 21, 2010, at which it denied the request for preliminary injunction and continuance of the November 4 and 5 hearing.

Although the SEC did not issue subpoenas, it ordered that NDEP produce certain documents to Sierra Club before the November 4 and 5 hearing. The SEC also suspended the briefing schedule. As noted above, the appeal hearing was conducted on November 4th 2010 and the SEC ruled to uphold the Water Pollution Control Groundwater Permit NEV91022.

Subsequently to the SEC's ruling, on January 3, 2011 the appellants filed for Judicial Review of the SEC's decision. After reviewing the SEC's administrative record on judicial review and after considering all court filings by the parties to the appeal, the First Judicial District Court of the State of Nevada (In and For Carson City) issued its decision on November 22, 2011. In brief the Court affirmed the SEC'S Decision upholding the above referenced permit.

Appeal Documents

Appellants Documents: Western Environmental Law Center [On behalf of the Sierra Club]

Intervener Documents: NV Energy

Nevada Division of Environmental Protection Documents

State Environmental Commission Documents

Related Information

Press Coverage 

  • November 18, 2010 — Lawsuit challenges expansion of landfill for power plant — The Moapa Band of Paiutes and the Sierra Club filed suit Thursday in hopes of blocking the development of evaporation ponds and the expansion of a landfill that would be used for continued operation of the Reid Gardner coal-fueled power plant 45 miles northeast of Las Vegas

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