Our podcast, City Cast Las Vegas, has been covering the Boring Co.'s run-ins with Las Vegas for a while. Listen to our March 6 interview with Fortune reporter Jessica Mathews above.
Clark County confirms material from the Boring Company’s Vegas Loop underground tunnel project is being dumped in a private lot to “dry out” before being shipped elsewhere.
A Clark County Public Works contractor, Tand Inc., has a county permit and permission from the property owner to use the lot near Commercial Center businesses for an unrelated storm drain improvement project on Karen Avenue. Public Works noticed additional material during a project check and learned Tand Inc. is allowing a Boring Company contractor to use the site. The Commercial Center is an historic shopping complex filled with an eclectic mix of eateries, retail shops, art galleries, gathering halls, and adult businesses.
The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection has been notified to review the situation to determine if additional permitting or protection measures are required at the open-air, fenced-in property near Maryland Parkway and Sahara Avenue.
“Representatives from the Boring Company have indicated to us that the moisture in the material is due to ground water conditions encountered during drilling operations,” according to a statement given to City Cast Las Vegas on Thursday by Clark County representative Stacey Welling.
Last year, OSHA cited the Boring Company for exposing workers to a hazardous mixture of construction materials, dirt, and ground water with chemicals creating a so-called “toxic sludge” which injured multiple workers when it made contact with their skin. The claims were first reported by Bloomberg and Fortune. It’s not known if the materials at the site neighboring Commercial Center contain any of the same chemicals cited in the OSHA investigation.
The Boring Company has appealed those OSHA findings and denies the allegations. The LVCVA, partners with Elon Musk’s Boring Company on the Vegas Loop, indicates it is aware of safety-related incidents connected to the project.
“The LVCVA is committed to ensuring the health and safety of those employed on any LVCVA project (and) that expectation was emphasized with the Boring Company during last summer’s review,” LVCVA CEO Steve Hill said earlier this year. “We made it really clear to the Boring Company that it is important that this project be done correctly. We have, since then, offered our help.”
Just last week, it came to light the Boring Company was also cited by the county for exposing support beams at the Las Vegas Monorail during grading maneuvers.
We reached out to The Boring Co., the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection, and LVCVA for comment, but didn’t hear back by press time.
