Pollution penalty enforced against Ledcor

An international industrial company with operations near Pyramid Lake was penalized $35,000 by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection for water pollution connected to the Olinghouse Mine spill.

After backing out of a settlement, Ledcor Industries Inc. agreed to pay the penalty for allegedly dumping about 300,000 gallons of heapdrain down- process solution into Olinghouse Wash.

The Olinghouse Mine is an abandoned mine site near Pyramid Lake and the Truckee River.

The spill's evidence extended about 21Ú2 miles downstream of the leach pad.

Cindy Petterson, NDEP spokeswoman, said the release happened over Thanksgiving 2002 and was discovered the following Monday.

"There was no corrective action necessary to protect the public health and the environment," she said Tuesday.

The NDEP Bureau of Mining Regulation and Reclamation inspected the site and found a violation of the Nevada Revised Statutes governing water pollution control.

Ledcor proposed a settlement to reclaim the Guanomi Mine, a historic mine on the Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation, but the company retracted the agreement in favor of paying the $35,000 enforcement penalty.

NDEP is negotiating with members of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe and the Nevada Division of Minerals to properly reclaim the historic Guanomi Mine.

For information about mining regulation and reclamation, go to www.ndep.nv.gov.