AMARGOSA VALLEY, Nev. -- A foul-smelling grease pit that has been torturing residents of Amargosa Valley is effectively shut down.
After the I-Team first reported about the giant vat of restaurant grease that was plopped down in a residential area without necessary permits, several government agencies started investigating.
At least five government entities became interested in the operation. What they found was an amazingly lackadaisical approach to laws and regulations on the part of the owner, even for Nye County.
Each week, 12,000 gallons of the stinkiest goop you can imagine is collected from restaurant grease traps in Las Vegas and hauled out to a ramshackle collection of open-air vats in Amargosa Valley, north of Las Vegas. Nye County has no zoning laws and limited regulations of all kinds, which is why the businessman, Mike Kostelac, decided to put the stuff out there in the first place.
The business, A Honeywagon Inc., purports to recycle kitchen grease rather than dump it in a landfill. But the smell is so bad at times that residents hundreds of yards from the open pits can't even open a window, let alone travel outdoors.
Since the story aired, the Nye County Sheriff has been citing the trucks which drop off grease, State Environmental Protection has conducted inspections, and the State Health Division issued a cease and desist order after it found out Kostelac lied when he told them he was putting in a two bedroom home rather than a stench factory.
Residents say the owner is still bragging that he isn't going anywhere.
"He stood up in front of the town board meeting and told us he had researched this area and he knows we have no rules and no laws and he is going to do whatever he wants," said resident Tona Renegar.
The Nevada Health Division disagrees. They not only issued the cease and desist, but followed up by making sure the power company cut off electricity to the site.
State OSHA inspectors have fined Kostelac for an assortment of building violations and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources gave him until 5 p.m. Friday to prove he wasn't illegally using his water well or face a shutoff.
State Environmental Protection also has a deadline looming once the other agencies finish their business with Kostelac. They want to shut him down, but also to make sure he cleans up the mess before he leaves.
None of this is coming fast enough for residents who are stifling their gag reflex every time they walk outside. But overall, it's an amazingly speedy response by so many government agencies.
