Potential transloading terminal sparks concern among locals
Hundreds of acres of land sit empty to the west of the Winnemucca Municipal Airport and the Industrial Park in Grass Valley, but a 177.31 acre parcel along the railroad line could be occupied by a transloading facility for loading and unloading material from freight to trucks in the near future.
The facility, proposed by Lithium Nevada, would be used to transfer sulfur, soda ash, quicklime, off-road diesel, caustic soda, and muriatic acid from rail cars to trucks for the Thacker Pass Lithium Mine in McDermitt. The facility would also have storage facilities for both liquid sulfur and soda ash.
On March 21, the Winnemucca City Council determined that it is in the best interest of the City to sell or lease the property and voted to move forward with a public hearing to determine the value of the property (with Councilwoman Ashley Maden abstaining from the vote and discussion). The parcel and other land, as well as the Airport, are owned by the City, despite lying outside of City limits.
Many of the Councilmemebers as well as City Manager Alicia Heiser agreed that they would be in favor of leasing the land over selling it to maintain some sort of governance of the property.
“I am in favor of a lease because we will be able to review any permit that is required by the [Nevada Division of Environmental Protection] or a fire marshal prior to approving any type of development that may occur on the property,” explained Heiser.
Concern has been raised by many of the residents that live near the area, with the parcel lying approximately a half a mile from residential properties to the north and confusion as to why the City has control of the parcel even though it lies outside of the City limits. Other major concerns regarding safety and the materials, environmental and economic impact, traffic, and interference with the Airport were voiced by the public during the meeting as well.
The land was purchased through joint efforts of the Humboldt Development Authority, the City and the County for future project growth, according to Councilman Vince Meniolda. The properties adjacent to the Airport, marked for either Airport expansion or industrial growth, were zoned by Humboldt County through County’s Master Plan, and were then deeded to the City in 2008.
“This is the first opportunity we've had to look at somebody that's interested in that property and that met the requirements when we created that Airport Industrial Park,” explained Councilman Mike Owens before the vote.
Lithium Nevada held a community update and presentation at the Winnemucca Boys and Girls Club on March 13 to address other important concerns from Humboldt County residents as well.
Materials
Significant concern has been raised about the liquid sulfur that would be hauled, heated and briefly stored at the facility, as it would arrive in the largest quantities and the most frequently. The sulfur would arrive in a semi-solid form on rail cars (cooled during transport) and then be heated with steam (to approximately 250 degrees) back into liquid, and then moved to the tanker trucks with special hoses. Special scrubbers will also be attached to both rail cars and trucks in order to eliminate the smell and gasses from the sulfur.
The sulfur is used to create sulfuric acid at the Thacker Pass site, which is used in the refining process for creating the lithium carbonate (a key component in batteries) that Lithium Nev. will create. Making the sulfuric acid at the Thacker Pass site, which is also done by other local mining companies, will generate carbon free power that will be used to help run the mine site.
Soda ash, quicklime,caustic soda, and muriatic acid would be used for the refining process of the lithium carbonate. The off-road diesel would be used for vehicles and equipment at the Thacker Pass site.
Practices and Safety
Lithium Nev., will likely contract with Savage, who operates more than 50 multi-commodity transload terminals across North America, to run and manage the facility.
According to Savage Communications Director Jeff Hymas, the company “currently transloads and trucks sulphur at another transload terminal in Nevada to support the mining industry.”
Savage currently handles around six million tons of sulfur each year in communities similar to the proposed site in Chicago, IL, Hammond, IN, Tampa, FL, Lake City, FL, Galveston, TX, Safford, AZ, Houston, TX, New Orleans, LA, Baton Rouge, LA, El Dorado, KS, and Long Beach, CA.
“We’re committed to working with Lithium Nevada to design and construct a best-in-class transload terminal, providing safe and responsible trucking and terminal operations, and being a good neighbor in Winnemucca and Humboldt County,” said Hymas in an email.
Lithium officials said at the presentation they are currently working on more feasibility and engineering studies to continue to uphold strict safety procedures outlined in their permitting and by federal laws, as well as continuing to make improvements on their practices through work at their Technical Research Center in Reno, NV.
Environmental Impacts
Arguably the main concern for the public is location. Residents near the area were displeased with the site location because it is in the vicinity of their homes and concerns about accidents or other disasters at the site.
Lithium Nev. has previously stated that they would not only uphold the requirements of their water, air and land use permits, but are committed to a zero-discharge facility, but many remained unconvinced.
One Grass Valley resident said “ if this was in a different location, it wouldn’t even be a problem.”
As for Airport operations, Airport Board Chairman Wayne Smith said in a phone call on March 21 that the transloading terminal would not interfere with airport operations. There is also an eastern 217.5 acre parcel separating the airport from the potential terminal.
“The property, as far as airport operations go, does not affect operations at all,” said Smith.
The facility would generate a substantial amount of traffic near the Rose Creek area if approved, with the terminal would receiving an average of 15 cars of material per day and have 39 outgoing trucks per day (making round trips) during phase one of operation and numbers doubling to 30 cars and 78 outgoing trucks during the second phase of operation. The mine has an expected life of 40 years, so the phases would be divided accordingly. These trucks would also be traveling on Highway 95, which has been highlighted as a great safety concern.
According to Lithium Nev., road traffic is reduced by 66 percent compared to hauling sulfuric acid (which is also much more dangerous), as it takes one ton of sulfur to make three tons of sulfuric acid.
Lithium’s Vice President of Community Relations Tim Crowley, said at the March 13 presentation that Lithium Nevada is working with the Nevada Department of Transportations to evaluate the traffic safety risks and will be analyzing improvements that will be necessary for road safety.
According to the Lithium officials, the facility will have very low water usage (12 acre feet), but water will be used mainly to heat the rail cars hauling the sulfur and for typical maintenance and plumbing. Lithium Nev. will either drill a municipal well or purchase water rights.
Lithium Nev. previously committed to very high standards of reducing light, dust, and noise pollution during the 24 hour, seven days a week operation of the facility when they addressed the City Council in early January.
Local Economic Impact
If approved, the transloading terminal will create approximately 20-22 jobs during the first phase of operation of the terminal and 20-24 trucking jobs for transportation. The average pay will start at $38 an hour excluding benefits.
An ever-present concern is housing and if the transloading facility and the mine attract new people, where will they live? As construction has broken ground at Thacker Pass, Lithium Nev. will have to continue to analyze solutions alongside the City and County to address the lack of adequate housing for future employees.