Elon Musk company issued waste disposal fines

A tunneling company owned by Elon Musk reportedly has been asked to pay sizable fines because of its improper disposal of wastewater and byproducts created by its activities.

As reported by Fortune, Musk’s The Boring Co. has been fined nearly $500,000 by the Clark County Water Reclamation District (CCWRD) in Las Vegas for the environmental violations.

The reports indicate the agency issued the fines because drilling fluids generated by The Boring Co.’s construction of a tunnel network beneath Las Vegas have more than once been dumped into Las Vegas sewer system access points, or manholes.

According to the CCWRD, the repeated activity has caused damage to the county’s infrastructure and was witnessed taking place even after the firm has been instructed to stop by the agency’s inspectors.

The Fortune report indicates the CCWRD has had to remediate 12 cubic yards of drilling mud and other waste collected at one of its sewage treatment facilities.

“The drilling fluids and spoils noted in the citation appear to refer to the toxic liquid that collects in the bottom of the tunnels as Boring’s machinery drills through earth and rock,” according to the report, adding that the byproducts poured untreated into the sewers may contain chemical-based products such MasterRoc AGA 41S, which is made by a Cleveland-area company that warns it may cause eye and skin irritation.

The more than $493,000 in fines includes one of more than $130,000 levied to cover the district’s expenses to remedy the fluid dumping.

The total amount of the fines also is intended to punish the firm for what CCWRD considers “the egregious nature of the violations” as well as the cost of emergency resources expended.

A report from Yahoo News says in the past three years, CCWRD has only issued a fine greater than $100,000 to one other company for wastewater discharge.

The Boring Co., on its website, says its work in Las Vegas is being performed to create up to 68 miles of tunnels serving more than 100 stations, including ones to serve Harry Reid International Airport, Allegiant Stadium and downtown Las Vegas.