Batch Plant in Moundhouse illegal?

MOUND HOUSE - An asphalt batch plant in operation for about a month is straddling a segment of the old Virginia & Truckee Railroad bed.

The entrance to the Frehner Construction Co. plant was cut across the railroad bed and trucks were running in and out.

Chuck Roberts, chairman of the Mound House Advisory Council, said he had no confidence that the reclamation clause in the special use permit allowing the batch plant would require any clean up.

"If you own the property, you can do what you want to the V&T. You can scar up the countryside and leave it that way," he said. "Commissioners here just choose not to deal with it.

"I hate to see Nevada's beautiful skylines destroyed and it's getting worse," Roberts said. "The way they leave these areas when they are done in this county has not been desirable from a historical perspective. I'm not saying that they won't do it this time, but others haven't, nor have they been required to do so."

According to the special use permit approved in May for the batch plant, there is no specific clause requiring that the railroad bed be restored, a spokeswoman for the county said.

The Frehner plant is digging gravel for the Nevada Department of Transportation's trucks, which pull up regularly for loads of asphalt, to be transported to the Minden area, according to night watchman Tom Price.

A reclamation plan was required as well as provisions for infrastructure like stop signs, speed limits and road maintenance, all subject to review every six months.

The property is leased from Sierra Mining and Engineering and the operation began about a month ago.

"We have a special use permit from Lyon County as well as a business license," Randy Evan, area manager for Frehner Construction, said. "We've met all conditions of the special use permit and submitted a reclamation plan. It was all in a booklet that we submitted."