Ely Shoshone Tribe Transforming 

Former Dump into Recreational Park and

Economic Opportunity 

Ely Shoshone, Nevada

Aproposed recreational park and economic opportunity await 

members of the Ely Shoshone Tribe once redevelopment is completed 

at a five-acre portion of a former landfill. With nearly $100,000 in EPA 

assistance, the Tribe conducted assessments at the landfi ll and, finding 

that contamination levels were lower than anticipated, conducted 

cleanup and closure activities at the property to prepare it for reuse. 

Ely Shoshone Tribal lands are located in White Pine County in the 

eastern part of Nevada. EPA awarded the Tribe a $200,000 Brownfields 

Assessment Pilot grant in 1998 to address the landfill and other 

contaminated properties under Tribal jurisdiction. One of the properties 

targeted by the Pilot is the five-acre Tribal portion of a 20-acre White 

Pine County landfi ll. The landfill, opened in the 1900s and abandoned 

in 1948, was suspected of being used by mining companies to deposit 

leaching chemicals used in gold and silver recovery. Private owners 

purchased portions of the property in the 1950s and 1960s, and in 

the 1970s, five acres were put into the Tribal Trust. The landfi ll is 

surrounded by private homes, and the property’s potential contaminants 

not only hindered future redevelopment opportunities, but were thought 

to threaten drinking water for the surrounding homes. 

The Pilot hired a consultant in 1999 to conduct an initial assessment 

of the five-acre portion of the landfill, and in 2001, EPA Region 9 

provided a Targeted Brownfields Assessment to conduct a more 

detailed assessment. These assessments revealed that contaminants— 

including volatile organic compounds, herbicides, pesticides, and 

metals—were at levels low enough to allow the waste to be classified 

as non-hazardous, allowing the Tribe to properly remove the waste 

and dispose of it at the operating Ely Regional Landfill. The Tribe 

partnered with Indian Health Services’ Office of Environmental Health 

and Engineering to execute cleanup activities. The area was capped 

with approximately 11,000 cubic yards of soil. The Ely Shoshone Tribe 

also procured the services of a local contractor to perform the capping 

of the fi ve-acre landfill after cleanup. The cleanup for the Ely Shoshone 

continued • 

© Google Maps 

Aerial view of the Ely Landfill. 

JUST THE FACTS:

• EPA awarded the Tribe a $200,000 

Brownfields Assessment grant to 

address part of an abandoned landfill 

and other contaminated properties 

under Tribal jurisdiction. 

• Contamination uncertainties with the 

abandoned landfill were lowering 

surrounding property values and raising 

concerns about drinking water for 

local residents. 

• Assessments alleviated these 

contaminant concerns and allowed 

plans for safely capping the landfill 

with clean soil to proceed. 

One of the Tribe’s 

former brownfields has been 

redeveloped into a Travel Center that 

includes a convenience store, gas 

station, deli, gift shop, and smoke 

shop; and amenities such as a lounge, 

showers, and laundry facilities. This 

project has served as a catalyst for the 

area’s economic and social growth— 

bringing the Tribe into a new era of 

economic development. 
Tribe’s Brownfields project was completed in October 2003 and cost $56,815 with 

the Tribe leveraging $15,354 of the total amount. 

The Ely Shoshone Tribe has involved its members throughout the reuse CONTACTS:

planning process to ensure the Tribal community supports the five-acre 

landfill project. Pilot funds supported outreach efforts that included For more information contact 

U.S. EPA REGION 9 

public meetings with site reuse discussions and production of a monthly (415) 947-8000 

“Environmental Newsletter” that provided project updates. The Ely Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at: 

Shoshone Tribe is considering development of a recreational facility on http://www.epa.gov/brownfi elds/ 

the property and is currently seeking funding for this end use. 

The Ely Shoshone Tribe was awarded funds totaling $1.3 million 

dollars from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 

Community Development Block Grant and the U.S. Department of 

Commerce’s Economic Development Administration. These funds were used to 

construct a 5,100 square foot Travel Center, which opened for business in May 2004, 

on a neighboring 30-acre parcel of Tribal Trust Land. The Travel Center houses a convenience store, 

gas station, deli, gift shop, smoke shop, and trucker amenities consisting of a lounge, showers, and 

laundry facilities. This project brought the Ely Shoshone Tribe into a new era of economic development. 

The construction of the Travel Center is a catalyst for the economic and social growth of the area, and 

provides infrastructure for further development of the former landfill. 

The Tribe is also working with White Pine County Commissioners to address the county’s portion of the 

landfill. The Tribe and the County hope that eventually the entire former landfill will be redeveloped. 

The Ely Shoshone Tribe looks forward to undertaking preparations for reuse of the former landfill. 

Brownfields Success Story Solid Waste EPA-560-F-08-302 

Tribe Transforming Former Dump into Recreational Park and Emergency September 2008 

Ely Shoshone, Nevada Response (5105T) www.epa.gov/brownfields/