EPA Acts to Protect Truckee River Watershed, Benefit Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation Through Settlement with CEMEX
NEVADA – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has settled with CEMEX Construction Materials Pacific, LLC over Clean Water Act violation claims at its sand and gravel mine located in Wadsworth, Nevada, on the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe Reservation. CEMEX will pay $310,000 in penalties and work to restore floodplain and habitat within the Truckee River Watershed.
"We do not allow the dumping of industrial waste on Tribal nations. EPA is taking this action to ensure that wastewater discharges do not degrade our precious water resources,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Region Administrator Josh F.W. Cook. "Through the agreement announced today, CEMEX will take the necessary steps to protect the Truckee River and the people of Nevada.”
EPA found CEMEX violated federal law by discharging mine pit wastewater and industrial stormwater into the Truckee River without a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe does not own or operate the CEMEX mine.
In November 2020, EPA issued an Administrative Order on Consent that required CEMEX to cease all illegal discharges, apply for required NPDES permits, and establish measures to prevent and reduce impacts of an emergency discharge.
As part of the agreement being announced today, CEMEX will work with the Truckee River Watershed Council to restore the floodplain and riparian habitat along the lower reach of Cold Creek between the mouth of Coldstream Canyon and the confluence with Donner Creek, a tributary to the Truckee River. This area is located southeast of Truckee, California.
This project will restore wetland habitat, stabilize streambanks, and restore floodplains in areas previously impacted by gravel mining, forest roads, and logging. When completed, the effort will have created approximately 3.2 acres of new floodplains and increase riparian habitat acreage.
For more information, visit EPA's Clean Water Act Section 309: Federal Enforcement Authority webpage.
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