24 Thursday, September 11, 1997 Pahrump Valley Gazette
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Pahrump Valley Insurance
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Roger W. Burnley C.L.U.
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Over 4,000 Plants in Stock
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Inyo Co. solid waste disp,)s00d plan
TECOPA,CA - A well attended town meeting was held
Wednesday September 10 in the Hurlbut-Rook commu-
nity center concering solid waste disposal in lnyo County
particulary in the Shoshone - Tecopa area. The meeting
was led by Chuck Hamilton, assistant county administra-
tor. Also present were Michael Dorame, 5th District County
Supervisor, Bob Kennedy & Bob Herd of Environmental
Health and several other planners involved in the issue.
Bob Herd spoke of the need to meet state mandates as
outlined in the five year plan already in place. "The State
of California has regulations in place, and we must comply
with them or the State will come in and take over manage-
ment of the dumps."
Chuck Hamilton explained the five year plan. Most of
the plan has been implemented with the fencing of the
Bishop and Lone Pine dumps and with dumpsters placed in
Keeler and Darwin and other places. The Shoshone and
Tecopa dump sites will be fenced and gated. The Shoshone
site would be closed to the public. The Tecopa site would
be open only four days a week with dumping allowed only
during specified hours. Hamilton asked for community
input to establish the days of the week and the hours of
operation. As a tenative schedule, Thursday through Sun-
day were the days chosen, with 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 pm as
the hours. He also stated that another meeting would be
held for more community input before things were final-
ized.
All in attendance seemed to agree that the Tecopa dump
site now is an eyesore and that something needs to be done
to control dumping. The reason Tecopa was chosen over
Shoshone was because it has an estimated life of 30 years
as opposed to 15 years at Shoshone.
Dumpsters would be placed in several locations in
Shoshone and Charlston View and would be hauled to the
Tecopa site by a private contractor awarded the contract by
open bid. The on site person will probably be a county
employee who would check and record loads brought in
and then cover the refuse. The possibility of a private
contractor doing this is also being explored.
Funding would come from a half cent sales tax.
When asked when this would be done, Hamilton stated
the plan called for it to be completed by May, 1998 and
they hoped it would be done sooner.
For further information or to give input write to Chuck
Hamilton, Waste Manager, 785 N. Main, Suite J., Bishop,
Calif. 93514.
Scientists find plutonium in ground water
WASHINGTON, DC - Nevada Senators Harry Reid and
Richard Bryan spoke out about a new study unveiled Wednes-
day September 10 at the American Chemical Society Confer-
II Ill
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We've been boring for over 15 years! Come
see what we've discovered. Meet some of the top
minds in earth sciences and learn about the results
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tour Yucca Mountain, you'll also hear about
nuclear and environmental sciences and waste
management. To reserve your tour date, you'll
need to provide your full name, address, social
security number, date and place of birth, and
telephone number. Tours are ()pen to any U.S.
citizen* over the age of 14, and will be filled on a
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cost of $6 per person, or guests may bring their
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So discover a whole new mountain of learning,
Yucca Mountain. Make your reservations for one
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October 18, or November 15, by calling
295-5555, weekdays, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
* Non-U.S. citize;s please call lot more inlormation.
ence in Las Vegas that demonstrates groundwater contamina-
tion from plutonium at the Nevada Test Site.
• Scientists from Los Alamos and Livermore Laboratories
found compelling evidence that the plutonium detected in the
ground water had originated from a 1968 testing event called
BENHAM. This is the first time that plutonium has been
detected in ground water any significant distance from a
detonation point. The Senators said that this study offers more
scientific evidence against a permanent repository at Yucca
Mountain.
"I have always believed that science would show that
Yucca Mountain is no place to store the most dangerous
substance known to mankind," Reid said. "This report offers
compelling new evidence in our case against a long term
repository at Yucca Mountain. We have always been con-
cerned about potential ground water contamination. Now we
YUCCA
MOUNTAIN
PROJECT
have the cold hard facts to
prove that radioactive waste
moves a lot faster and further
through ground water than
we ever thought it would.
Those who are pushing to
make Nevada the nation's
nuclear dumping ground
should take serious note of
this report. There is a lot of
work that needs to be done on
radiation and groundwater
before anybody starts storing
any high level nuclear waste
at Yucca Mountain or the Ne-
vada Test Site."
"Anotherred flag has been
raised up the YuccaMountain
flagpole," Bryan said. "This
new report on the speed with
which plutonium has migrated
through the water table at the
Nevada Test Site should send
shock waves through the sci-
entific community working to
prove that high level nuclear
waste can be stored at Yucca
Mountain. The scientific evi-
dence continues to mount that
Yucca Mountain will never
be found suitable as a nuclear
dumping site because basic
health and safety protections
for Nevadans can never be
assured. While this report fo-
cused on the NevadaTest Site,
far greater quantifies of radio-
active materials would be
stored at Yucca Mountain. The
Department of Energy needs
to take this report seriously
and not sweep it under the rug
as has been their instinct in the
past."
The Senators plan to fur-
ther study the report in com-
ing days to analyze its long
term impact on Nevadans and
the Nevada Test Site.
