E.P.A. Requires Nevada Gold Mining Company to Correct Reporting Violations

SAN FRANCISCO - The E.P.A. settled with Veris Gold USA, Incorporated for failing to correctly report toxic chemical delivers and waste management activities as required by the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. The company agreed to a civil penalty of $182,000.

The violations involved late and incorrect reporting for 10 chemical compounds including arsenic, cobalt, copper, cyanide, lead, mercury, nickel, propylene and zinc at Veris Gold USA's Jerritt Canyon mine located fifty miles north of Eureka in Elko County. Veris Gold U.S.A. is the wholly-owned subsidiary of Veris Gold Corp., a Canadian corporation.

Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, facilities that manufacture, process, or use toxic chemicals over certain quantities must file yearly reports estimating the amounts released to the environment, treated or recycled on-site, or transferred off-site for waste management. These reports are submitted to E.P.A. and the State or Tribe with jurisdiction over the facility. E.P.A. compiles this information into a national Toxics Release Inventory database and makes it accessible to the public.

The action is part of the EPA's National Mineral Processing Enforcement Initiative which aims to minimize risks to drinking water and other resources posed by hazardous waste operations at mineral processing facilities.

More information on the Toxics Release Inventory: http://www.epa.gov/tri

EPA's environmental databases, including TRI data, can be accessed at: http://www.epa.gov/enviro

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