When word of the proposal to establish a medical waste disposal operation in the heart of town reached Pahrump residents’ ears, it sparked a flash of public opposition and demands that the Nye County Commission step in to address the issue.
MediWaste Disposal LLC, the company planning to bring their operations to the valley, was expected to appear before the commission this month. This prompted a crowd of residents to make their way to the board’s latest meeting — only to be disappointed.
“Why isn’t MediWaste here today?” Pahrump resident Maryann Hollis demanded to know on June 18. “When will they be called to appear? We want to be there to tell them, ‘No!’”
Despite the lack of an agenda item that morning, county officials assured that they are working to have MediWaste representatives provide a presentation in the coming weeks.
“They’re going to be here on July 16,” Nye County Planning Director Brett Waggoner explained, going on to touch on why the anticipated item was not on the June 18 agenda. “We’ve got people who are trying to get here from other parts of the country and there were travel conflicts. We can’t force them to be here. We’ve requested them to be here and they have agreed to be here on the 16th to do their presentation.”
MediWaste is aiming to turn the existing building at 1850 E. Basin Avenue into its newest facility, with medical waste from California and potentially other states anticipated to be processed at the site.
Company officials have stressed that their operation does not involve incineration and therefore does not come with many of the same potential issues that incineration facilities have.
Instead, MediWaste utilizes pyrolysis, which is a process of thermal decomposition at very high temperatures in the absence of oxygen.
This then produces biochar, which will be taken to the Pahrump landfill, as well as a renewable fuel byproduct that MediWaste intends to sell.
In order to bring its operations here, MediWaste must first obtain a battery of permits, one of which comes from Nye County.
The company was granted its Conditional Use Permit by the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission (RPC) in April by a unanimous vote.
While those board members seemed to harbor no disquiet, that cannot be said for members of the public.
Concerns voiced over the project range from air quality and water quality impacts to the impact to the local landfill, the potential for fires and explosions, possible spills on the highway by transport vehicles bringing waste into or out of the site and more.
As such, there will likely be a quiver of questions for MediWaste representatives to address during their presentation before the Nye County Commission next month.
To view the backup documentation on the project visit NyeCountyNV.gov and click on the Meeting Center link.
The information is included with agenda item #7 of the RPC’s April 10 meeting.
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com