A Knox Excavation truck travels north along East Valley Road on May 20.
Between the beginning of the year and May 8, the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection received 29 complaints for dust related to Painted Rock Mine.
Last week, Douglas County updated its web page to include dust mitigation correspondence between the state and Knox Excavation, the gravel pit’s operator.
According to a letter written in mid-May, the Bureau of Air Pollution Control investigated the complaints of fugitive dust near the mine and adjacent roads.
Prior to the May 14 letter, the bureau said it recommended drivers obey posted speed limits, that roads and the parking area east of Johnson Lane be watered frequently and that more oil and grindings be added to the access roads.
The bureau gave Knox until early June to install and roll a layer of grindings Âľ of a mile from the eastern end of Johnson Lane.
By around the end of June, Knox Excavation is required to roll and compact the remaining dirt path to the site.
Until the roads have sufficient coverage, Knox is required to evaluate dust opacity on six trucks in an hour and keep records.
The Bureau said that Knox must follow the hours set in its agreement with Douglas County and keep a log of truck hours and daily roundtrip trips, apply water or an approved dust suppressant regularly and keep records of the gallons applied.
Knox must also establish vehicle speed limits of no more than 15 mph in the parking area at the end of Johnson Lane.
The Record-Courier reached out to Knox Excavation on May 6 after the mine was the subject of a television story that interviewed neighbors.
Owner Jon Maxwell responded by sending the 8,682 Final Environment Assessment.
“Please read and understand this report as it has all the answers you are looking for and it took over four years with three independent firms doing redundant and separate studies of each concern,” Maxwell said.
Members of Protect Johnson Lane have reportedly been raising $300,000 for a legal challenge to the finding of no significant impact included in the assessment.
Resident Stacie Clark said the news piece was prompted after opponents learned a well was being drilled.
She said that there is no permit filed with the Nevada Division of Water Resources.
Having a well on the property was included in the environmental assessment in order to provide water for dust control.
“The potential fugitive dust generated by the haul trucks would be minimized by watering three to six times per day and installing roadway improvements, which includes the placement of a gravel surface at the outset and the placement of recycled asphalt pavement over at least the first mile of the haul route by the end of year 1 and over the entire length by year 3,” according to the document.
The original plan called for hauling water and drilling a well using existing water rights to provide wash water and dust control.
“Approximately 12,000-24,000 gallons of water per day would be used during times of peak production, principally for dust suppression on the access-haul road and for the screener-stacker,” according to the report.
That would be 13.4 acre feet a year, an amount the report says is typical of a commercial well. In Nevada, a domestic well is permitted for 2 acre feet per year.
On the county’s permit matrix, it says the water use permits will be issued by the Bureau of Indian Affairs for the site.
The property is located on an Indian tribal allotment held in trust by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
On Tuesday, The Record-Courier reached out to the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to ask specifically if the state has jurisdiction over a well on the site.
“No, the state does not have jurisdiction over a commercial well located on tribal land,” Spokeswoman Jennifer Jackson replied on Thursday.