WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will provide funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which she helped write and pass, to help clean up the Carson River Mercury Site in Lyon and Storey Counties. Cleanups like this help transform contaminated properties and create jobs in overburdened communities, while repurposing these sites for a wide range of uses, including public parks, retail businesses, office space, residences, warehouses, and solar power generation.
“Cleaning up legacy contamination sites in Northern Nevada is critical to keeping local communities safe from toxic chemicals and protecting our environment,” said Senator Rosen. “I’m proud to announce the funding I helped secure through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will go directly toward cleaning and restoring our communities, keeping Nevadans and local wildlife safe from exposure to harmful chemicals.”
Over a century ago, miners at what is now the Carson River Mercury Superfund site used mercury to process gold and silver ore. Over time, this process released an estimated 14 million pounds of mercury into the environment. In 1990, the Carson River Mercury Superfund Site became part of the National Priorities List of Superfund sites, which consists of some of the most toxic sites in the country. Since the early 2000s, the EPA and the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection have been working with local developers to sample residential areas, which has resulted in removing and/or capping contaminated soil.
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