"In this farming community about 50 miles south of Battle Mountain, rusted steel pesticide drums lie abandoned on the desert floor above a dump where decades of toxic refuse lie buried in shallow trenches.

Government documents show federal and state regulators required the dump site to be safely cleaned up and closed 16 years ago. But in 1993, officials failed to follow through with cleanup efforts.

State and federal officials admit laws and regulations weren’t followed because they said they were busy with other projects. They said the site is probably safe and as far as they can tell it never posed a health risk.

That doesn’t placate some Lander County residents."

Frank X. Mullen Jr. reports for the Reno Gazette-Journal August 23, 2009. [2]