After decades of resistance from the state of Nevada, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is taking the final steps to add an abandoned copper mine in Yerington to the list of the nation's most polluted Superfund sites.
The EPA formally proposed the priority listing of the World War II era-mine on Wednesday — 31 years after Nevada regulators accused Anaconda Mining Co. of illegally discharging pollutants from the toxic site 80 miles southeast of Reno.
The EPA first proposed priority Superfund status in 2001, but the state and local business leaders opposed the move for fear of a stigma that could affect property values.
Gov. Brian Sandoval announced in March he was reluctantly dropping the state's opposition because the NPL listing will make $31 million in federal funds available to help with the cleanup.
