Elon Musk’s Boring Co. has been accused by Nevada state regulators of violating environmental regulations nearly 800 times in the last two years while digging a sprawling tunnel network beneath Las Vegas for its Tesla-powered “people mover.” The company allegedly ignored permits, released untreated water onto city streets, and spilled waste from its trucks.
A cease-and-desist letter from the state Bureau of Water Pollution Control alleged repeated violations of a settlement agreement that the company signed in 2022 after being fined five years ago for discharging groundwater into storm drains without a permit. Despite this, regulators counted 689 missed inspections and reduced the penalty to $242,800.
The Boring Co. is disputing the violation letter, but experts say the fine may not be enough to deter future non-compliance. “Environmental regulations are largely terrible,” Musk said at an event last year, advocating for a more lenient approach to penalties rather than compliance. However, officials argue that their measures will still serve to deter future non-compliance conduct.
The project, initially a 0.8-mile underground route, has grown to a planned 68 miles of tunnels and 104 stations across the Las Vegas Valley. The company’s lack of transparency and oversight has raised concerns among workers, who have complained of chemical burns from the waste material generated by the tunneling process.
While the CEO and chairman of the LVCVA board criticized the reporting on the project, officials say they will continue to monitor and inspect the projects to ensure public safety. However, experts question whether fines will be enough to change operations at The Boring Co., which was valued at $7 billion in 2023.
Source: https://www.propublica.org/article/elon-musk-boring-company-violations-fines-vegas-loop