Amargosa land owner wants to open recycling business

Another recycling business could come to Amargosa if it meets a number of requirements by the Nye County Department of Planning.

Land owner Robert Ford, through his limited liability company ABC Recycling Industries, filed a request for a solid waste permit of Class III landfill located at 1995 Diaz Road on approximately 372 acres in Amargosa Valley, the Nye County Department of Planning found a number of issues and asked for a six-month extension to conduct an analysis last Tuesday.

In a letter to Ford, Nye County Planning Director Darrell Lacy said Nye County code requires an evaluation of the impact of the proposed landfill on the health, safety and general welfare of the county that must be submitted to the Board of County Commissioners for approval.

Some of the issues that have to be resolved in the six-month period include delinquent property taxes on the parcel in excess of $85,000 and the lack of legal access to the property, as well as acceptable paved road access. The applicant would also have to provide an inventory of the waste that has already been disposed to the site, according to the letter.

In addition, Lacy said a proposed landfill may not meet the definition of a Class III site.

"It appears that your proposed landfill may not meet the definition of a Class III site," Lacy said in the letter to Ford. "The disposal of any household waste including garbage, putrescible animal or vegetable waste resulting from the handling, storage, sale, preparation, cooking and serving of food, trash, or sanitary wastes, would require a Class I municipal solid waste permit. It is not clear to us that your proposed landfill qualifies as a Class III site."

Some however, drew reference to a recent Amargosa nuisance case that put an unincorporated community in the spotlight during several meetings of Nye County Commissioners.

Trevor Dolby, a member of the Amargosa Valley Town Board said there was a connection between the two cases because an application before the board for solid waste operation also claimed recycling capability.

"I believe there's an obvious connection between this agenda item and our recent experience with the solid waste operation on Cook Road," Dolby said.

Steven Settlemyer, the owner of the property located at 2712 E. Cook Road in Amargosa Valley, was issued an abatement mandate in March after waste buildup on his pig farm was considered a nuisance. Settlemyer had 30 days to address the issue, but claimed he wasn't able to do so because of the breakdown of one of his machines. The issue has since dragged on for several months and recently, officials said Settlemyer could face a county solid waste management violation.

"I feel that if this moves forward, and the county adopts this landfill, then it will be necessary for the town of Amargosa to have an ordinance to charge by the pound how much waste is put into the ground," said Amargosa Valley Town Board member John Bosta. "I would hope that you would literally take a look at scrutinizing this group before you ever approve the landfill."

Before officials make a final determination, they have to conduct an analysis through an additional review. They also suggested the Amargosa Town Board needs to get involved and give the Board of Commissioners an approval as part of the process.

Until the issues are resolved, the application is deemed incomplete, and Nye County Board of Commissioners will not set a public hearing for action.