Profile, Hawthorne Army Depot

The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection

Hawthorne Army Depot Webpage

2005

August 24, 2005 -- Hawthorne Army Depot to remain open -- The commission determining military base closures nationwide voted Wednesday to keep open the Hawthorne Army Depot 130 miles southeast of Reno. The vote was 7-0, with two recusals, to overturn Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's recommendation to shut down the base.
May 29, 2005 -- Hawthorne Army Depot on the BRAC List -- Federal officials are considering shutting down the Hawthorne Army Depot, the largest ammunition storage facility in the nation and the biggest thing in Hawthorne for the past 75 years.

2001
February 8, 2001 -- Team Hawthorne wins Vice President’s Hammer Award -- The Hawthorne Army Depot, State of Nevada, U.S. Army Environmental Center, U.S. Army Munitions & Armaments Command, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Day & Zimmermann Hawthorne Corporation, and Tetra Tech., partnering together have won the Vice President’s Hammer Award for their submittal titled, “Team Hawthorne: Reinvention of a Low Cost, Low Technology Environmental Cleanup Solution of Energetically Contaminated Soils.

2000
May 25, 2000 -- HAWTHORNE ARMY DEPOT, Nevada, The U.S. Army has found a way to recycle M60 and M61 training rockets, as well as M67 rocket motors and M441 shipping and firing tubes, as part of the Army's Chemical Weapons Demilitarization Program -- Environmental News Service - Online.
March 8, 2000 -- Reid tries to block funds for munitions depot -- RENO, Nev. (AP) Sen. Harry Reid is trying to block federal funding for the Sierra Army Depot's munitions destruction program, which activists suspect causes cancer and other health problems in Nevada and California.
March 1, 2000 -- Lahontan cutthroat trout on rebound at Walker Lake. HAWTHORNE — Angling for Nevada's state fish, the Lahontan cutthroat trout, promises to be fantastic this year at Walker Lake.
February 13, 2000 -- Walker Lake water meetings set -- HAWTHORNE, Nev. (AP) - Federal officials will hold a series of public meetings this month in an effort to assess the impacts of a plan to acquire water to save Walker Lake.
February 12, 2000 -- Water rights subject of Walker Lake public meetings -- By Tim Anderson RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL The threatened desert lake, a topic of major controversy in recent years because of competing interests for Walker River Basin water - especially agricultural users - is the focus of a series of public meetings aimed at preparing a federal environmental impact statement.
January 14, 2000 -- State gears up for Walker Lake water quality standards -- YERINGTON, Nev. (AP) The state of Nevada plans Jan. 20 workshops here and in Hawthorne on water quality standards aimed at improving Walker Lake's fish habitat and recreation opportunities for people.
January 25, 2000 -- Evironmentalists want Sierra Army Depot to stop open burning -- By Frank X. Mullen Jr. -- RENO GAZETTE JOURNAL The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe and local environmental groups on Wednesday plan to ask the Washoe County District Board of Health to support their efforts to halt open burning of munitions at Sierra Army Depot in Herlong, Calif.
January 25, 2000 -- New hires at army ammunition depot ASSOCIATED PRESS HAWTHORNE, Nev. Nearly a fourth of the workers at the Army ammunition depot here were laid off at the start of the year. But since then, there have been dozens of new hires.
January 4, 2000 -- State hearings set on Walker water standards -- By Faith Bremner RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL The state of Nevada is gearing up to adopt, for the first time ever, water quality standards to make Walker Lake a better place for fish to live and for the public to recreate.

1999
July 9, 1999 -- Walker Lake loon mercury study expected to get $250,000 -- CARSON CITY (AP) - Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., has inserted $250,000 in a federal appropriations bill to determine if high mercury levels found in migratory loons comes from Walker Lake.
June 10, 1999 -- Spending bill has $26 million earmarked for Nevada -- By Mark Preston Las Vegas Sun CORRESPONDENT Tucked away within the $265 billion defense spending bill passed by the Senate Tuesday is about $26 million earmarked for military projects scattered throughout Nevada.
May 19, 1999 -- Walker fish OK to eat, officials say -- By Jim Krajewski Reno Gazette-Journal It's alright to eat those fish you catch in Walker Lake. Concerns arose last year when blood samples taken from migrating, fish-eating loons showed elevated levels of mercury.
February 28, 1999 -- Birds, fish test positive for mercury at Walker Lake -- HAWTHORNE, Nev. (AP) Scientists fear the Walker River watershed may be contaminated with mercury after wildlife at Walker Lake tested positive for the poisonous metal.
February 11, 1999 -- Nevada Focus: Nevada's Walker Lake has up-and-down history -- HAWTHORNE, Nev. (AP) By 1995, Walker Lake was at a critical point, with too many dissolved solids in the water for young Lahontan cutthroat trout eggs to survive.
October 19, 1999 -- Reid says Nevada money survives in Pentagon spending bill THE ASSOCIATED PRESS -- RENO, Nev. (AP) - More than $22 million in Pentagon spending for Nevada has survived a round of budget cuts in a House-Senate conference committee, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said. The bill on the way to President Clinton's desk includes money for the Nevada Air National Guard and the Hawthorne Army Depot in Mineral County.
News Release -- August 25, 1999 -- Day and Zimmerman Hawthorne Corporation Chosen as Depot Operations/Demilitarization Service Contractor for Hawthorne Army Depot -- Rock Island, IL The United States Army Industrial Operations Command (IOC) announced today that Day and Zimmermann Hawthorne Corporation was selected as the contractor to provide the Conventional Ammunition Depot Operations and Demilitarization services mission assigned to the Hawthorne Army Depot, Hawthorne, Nev. A Five-Year, Firm Fixed Price, Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) service contract with a five year evaluated option was awarded to Day and Zimmermann Hawthorne Corporation. Contract performance begins Jan. 1, 2000.
July 26, 1999 -- Las Vegas Review-Journal -- Reid says fish must not be harmed by dam on Walker River -- Associated Press RENO Sen. Harry Reid says he'll block the federal government's plans to rebuild a dam on the Walker River until the potential harmful effects on fish are better understood.
June 22, 1999 -- Tainted fish in Nevada lake linked to mercury in loons -- HAWTHORNE, Nev. (AP) Migrating loons are picking up mercury contamination from tainted fish at a desert lake 120 miles southeast of Reno, a researcher says.

1998
September 27, 1998 -- Navy helicopter crash leaves 2 dead, 2 injured -- HAWTHORNE, Nev. (AP) A Navy helicopter involved in a search for a missing private aircraft crashed in central Nevada Saturday, killing two people and injuring two others. (See Related Story)
Summer 1998 -- Nevada Depot Saves Millions by Composting Explosives-Tainted Soil -- By Gale L. Smith, Industrial Operations Command -- Composting of soil containing explosives compounds is expected to save the Army nearly $4 million at Hawthorne Army Depot in Nevada. A pilot study at the depot shows that bioremediation by windrow composting will degrade explosives in the soil. The pilot project cleaned up about 2,800 cubic yards of soil containing explosives.
May 18, 1998 -- Reseachers seek to learn more about Walker Lake loons -- HAWTHORNE, Nev. (AP) Researchers have implanted three Walker Lake loons with satellite transmitters to learn more about the migration patterns of the elusive birds.
April 24, 1998 -- Quake occurs near Hawthorne Las Vegas SUN Staff Report -- A wall around a Hawthorne High School door frame cracked as a 4.4 magnitude earthquake struck the northern Nevada town about 9:17 a.m. today, the Seismology Laboratory at the University of Nevada, Reno reported.

1997
April 17, 1997 -- Loon festival celebrates arrival of migratory birds -- By The Associated Press HAWTHORNE, Nev. (AP) Boat tours to view migrating loons will be one of the highlights of this weekend's annual Walker Lake Loon festival.
April 07, 1997 -- Reid seeks Hawthorne land deal -- HAWTHORNE (AP) -- Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., has introduced legislation to transfer a parcel of land at the Hawthorne Army Ammunition Plant from the federal government to Mineral County.
February 08, 1997 -- Boom and bust in a company town - Military's refusal to pay taxes leaves Hawthorne in lurch By Rachael Levy LAS VEGAS SUN -- HAWTHORNE -- Steel clouds dense as wool ride the morning wind to the valley's edge, halting atop Mount Grant where they gather strength and turn ragged black. The massive forms jostle and grate as a column of pale gray vapor slides down the mountain.
September 07, 1997 -- BLM considers water rights purchases for threatened Walker Lake -- HAWTHORNE, Nev. (AP) The Bureau of Land Management is considering the acquisition of water rights for diminishing Walker Lake, whose survival is threatened by a lack of water from the Walker River due in part to upstream diversions for agriculture.

1996
June 18, 1996 -- Mineral County leads state in fed money Nevada ranks 43rd in nation -- By Ken McCall LAS VEGAS SUN -- When it comes to landing federal money, nobody in the state did it better last year than the folks in Mineral County.
April 18, 1996 -- Sen. Reid Says Time Running Out for Walker River -- RENO, Nev. (AP) A conservation group's inclusion of the Walker River on its list of the nation's 20 most endangered waterways means time is running out to save an important natural resource, Sen. Harry Reid has warned.

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