The Nevada Environmental Response Trust (NERT) site (Site) is located within the Black Mountain Industrial (BMI) Complex near Henderson, Nevada. The Site, which was previously owned by Tronox LLC (formerly known as Kerr-McGee Chemical Corporation), is approximately 346 acres in size and is located 13 miles southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada in an unincorporated section of Clark County, Nevada. A portion of the Site is currently leased by EMD Acquisitions LLC (EMD) for electrolytic manganese dioxide production; EMD acquired Tronox's operations at the Site in 2018. The BMI Complex, located in unincorporated Clark County, is completely surrounded by the City of Henderson.
This website includes a summary of NERT Site information, as well as more detailed information about the Site’s operational history, historical regulatory actions and investigations, current groundwater treatment, current Remedial Investigation and Risk Assessment work, and the upcoming Feasibility Study.
Key Facts
· Groundwater is not a source of drinking water in the City of Henderson.
· NDEP has been sharing its progress on the cleanup with the community since 2007; this website, as well as annual fact sheets, provide updated information on activities at the NERT Site.
· The cleanup of groundwater contaminated by former operations at the NERT Site began in 1987 and continues today. Additional investigations are still being performed.
· Since operation of a groundwater extraction and treatment system (GWETS) began at the NERT Site, the amount of perchlorate contamination from the NERT Site entering the Las Vegas Wash has been reduced by more than 90% relative to 2000 levels.
· 2021 marked the 22nd year of near-continuous operation of the existing groundwater extraction and treatment system. Approximately 283,000 pounds of perchlorate were removed from the environment in calendar year 2021; since treatment began, the total amount of perchlorate removed is approximately 12.4 million pounds.
· NERT submitted six milestone documents to NDEP in 2021, including remedial investigation and human health and ecological risk assessment reports, which are under NDEP review.
· Various groundwater treatment options are currently being tested to determine the best long-term solutions.
Additional Project Documentation and Information
Project documents that have been approved by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) are available through NERT’s online Document Repository. Additional information about the overall progress of current and future Site activities is also available on NDEP's website. For help obtaining more information, please visit the contacts page.
The information provided on this website is also summarized in the NDEP Cover Letter (Spanish version) and current NERT Fact Sheet (Revised in January 2023) (Spanish version).
Presentation Slides from the Community Interview Meeting held on June 21, 2017 are also available.
Previous Fact Sheets and Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) documents are also available via the links below:
2017 Fact Sheet (also available in Spanish)
2018 Fact Sheet (also available in Spanish)
2019 Fact Sheet (also available in Spanish)
2020 Fact Sheet (also available in Spanish)
2021 Fact Sheet (also available in Spanish)
2018 FAQ Document (also available in Spanish)
Other Environmental Cleanup Sites in the BMI Complex
In addition to the NERT Site, NDEP oversees monitoring and remediation efforts by various other parties within the BMI Complex, including Basic Remediation Company (BRC), Titanium Metals Corporation of America (TIMET), and Olin Chlor Alkali (formerly operated by multiple companies including the Stauffer Chemical Company [Stauffer], Pioneer Chlor Alkali Company [Pioneer], and Montrose Chemical Company [Montrose]). Environmental cleanup at these nearby properties in the BMI Complex are also overseen by NDEP, but these are not the responsibility of NERT. The former American Pacific Corporation (AMPAC) Site, previously owned by Pacific Engineering and Production Company of Nevada (PEPCON), is a former perchlorate manufacturing facility located west of the BMI Complex that is relevant to investigation of the NERT Site due to the AMPAC Site’s proximity and the similar nature of contaminants. On-going operation of the groundwater treatment facility associated with the former AMPAC Site is performed by Endeavour, LLC and also overseen by NDEP.
Information regarding the cleanup programs at these other sites within the BMI Complex and surrounding area are available on NDEP’s website.
Last updated: April 2022