The federal Environmental Protection Agency is telling southern Nevada's franchise trash hauler to get to work sealing the long-closed Sunrise Mountain landfill.

The EPA says Republic Services of Southern Nevada is responsible for stabilizing the site pending a comprehensive final plan for the 440-acre former municipal solid waste dump 3 miles east of Las Vegas.

The order cites a washout that sent trash into the Las Vegas Wash heading to Lake Mead during storms in September 1998. At the time, the EPA cited Republic Dumpco and the Clark County for violations of the Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

The EPA says some remediation work has been done. But it faults Republic for failing to install drainage controls to minimize erosion during major storms or install an adequate groundwater monitoring system.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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