Henderson taxpayers will bankroll this developer’s toxic mine cleanup

Tucked away in the far eastern outskirts of Henderson, a toxic manganese mine site will soon house 3,000 families — families whose tax dollars will fund a multimillion-dollar cleanup over almost half a century.

For years, the former Three Kids Mine was a museum of graffiti and a popular skating spot rife with asbestos, arsenic, lead and manganese. The site, fully closed to mineral extraction in 1961, was integral in the country’s defense in World War I, delivering manganese ore for steel military weapons and equipment.

The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection is overseeing the cleanup, using what officials say are the highest possible standards also used to remediate Superfund sites, or those under the purview of the federal government.

As of the most recent progress report released on Tuesday, asbestos removal will be completed at the end of January, and toxic tailings will be gone at the end of February. Though waste rock disposal will continue, the first homes could be built in 2026.

But below 10 feet of undisturbed soil, remnants of the mine’s toxic waste will remain.

“I can guarantee you I’m not going to buy a house over there, and I’m going to make sure none of my relatives do,” said Jim McDonald, a resident of the sprawling Lake Las Vegas community that begins across the street from the cleanup site.

He has been a staple at community meetings, expressing concerns about the design of the plan and dust floating into nearby areas.

Misuse of tax dollars or promising development project?

Following the money tells a unique story about how such a costly project is being funded.

While developers are fronting the cost of the cleanup that totals $257 million as of the most recent estimate, they will be reimbursed for most or all of it — on the taxpayer’s dime.

Over 45 years, a large share of property taxes generated from the homes will go straight to Lakemoor Ventures, the developer that is working with Pulte Homes to build them.

Lakemoor Ventures could not be reached for comment.

A spokesperson for Pulte Homes deferred to the state for comments about the cleanup but said the company “remains deeply involved in the remediation phase.”

McDonald, the Lake Las Vegas resident, said the project will only end up costing taxpayers more money down the line.

“Somebody there, for some reason, is going to get cancer,” McDonald said. “There’s a lawyer out there who’s going to make the case that they didn’t have a good enough remediation plan.”

In a Friday interview, Henderson Mayor Michelle Romero called the arrangement a win-win for the city and developers.

“I didn’t like the fact that we had such a contaminated area in our city,” Romero said. “This gave us the opportunity to clean it up and to put it to good use.”

For the first 25 years, the developer is eligible to receive 85 percent of taxes generated by the project, and for years 26 to 45, that amount will be reduced to 80 percent, according to a city spokesperson.

Classifying the site as a so-called “redevelopment area” and allowing property taxes to contribute was an easy decision, Romero said. The site previously had zero value, meaning it generated no tax dollars at all for the city.

“I know people think, ‘Oh, the money’s being diverted away,’ ” she said. “It really balances out in the end because we request money up front for certain services. And in the end, the difference is so vast that it more than makes up for what was temporarily frozen.”

Construction monitoring extensive

When asked about dust concerns, the state’s remediation manager, Alan Pineda, pointed to the four monitoring stations that have tracked asbestos fibers and other related contaminants since the project began.

So far, none of the reports have flagged any high levels, he said.

Romero, the mayor, said officials should be doing anything they can to alleviate the costs associated with building on limited available land for development. About 80 percent of Nevada’s land is controlled by the federal government, leading those in real estate to blame agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management for persistent housing shortages.

Before Congress gave the land to Henderson with the Three Kids Mine Remediation and Reclamation Act, the site was federally controlled, too.

Romero pointed to the Clark County Lands Bill as a long-term solution to housing issues. The controversial bill, which would free up land for housing development, is one that U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., has vowed to reintroduce in the new Congress.

Until then, local leaders will find other solutions like the one used at the Three Kids Mine site, Romero said.

“Any time we can do something that frees up some land to provide a variety of housing types at various prices in this market, I think that’s a good thing,” she said.

Contact Alan Halaly at ahalaly@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlanHalaly on X.