New violations exposed in Elon Musk's Vegas Loop construction – report

Posted: Jan 8, 2025, 02:02 pm.

Last updated: January 8, 2025, 02:39 pm.

Working in the dark beneath the Las Vegas Strip, Elon Musk's The Boring Company has not been out of sight of the new investigation into environmental, health and safety violations committed so far during the construction of the Vegas Loop transportation system.

Initially envisioned as a means to transport people between different areas of the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Vegas Loop is now expanding to cover 68 miles from the airport to downtown with 104 stops . This includes personal Tesla cars that carry 2-3 people at a time at an average speed of 30 mph.

The investigation, based largely on Freedom of Information Act requests, was authored by journalists Daniel Rothberg and David Figler. ProPublica, A number of previously unreported violations of building and environmental regulations were found by Boring, including:

1. 2019 citation for releasing groundwater into storm drains without a permit, resulting in a $90K fine from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection
2. 2022 citation by local authorities for illegally connecting to a sewer without approval, with no penalty
3. After Clark County found in 2023 that Boring built the tunnel without a permit for work on county property, the county allowed the company to retroactively file for permits and pay a $900 fine for each.
4. The 2024 violation resulted from an unsecured boring truck that spilled hazardous material across I-15 – shutting it down for four hours during rush hour – resulting in a driver's fine of just $75 (that's without the K). Had to give.

ProPublicaThe investigation also revealed a video, shot by a Clark County Water Reclamation District employee, showing wastewater spilling from the Vegas Loop construction site onto a road near UNLV this June, and Las Vegas Water A similar complaint from a district employee had also come to light.

The county's response to both complaints was to issue cease-and-desist letters but no fines.

These violations come on top of eight previously reported serious safety violations found by the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in 2023. In that case, 15-20 boring workers had severe burns to their skin from hazardous chemicals while attaching hoses. (OSHA defines “serious” violations as those with “a substantial probability that death or serious physical injury may occur.”)

Boring was fined $112K for those violations.

ok by that

Of course, for the richest man in the world, especially when he wants to prove that he is capable of delivering on what he promises, the $90K and $112K fines are mere subway tokens.

so, ProPublica Found, The Boring Company was violating regulations – and paying fines for doing so – with the full support of the quasi-governmental marketing agency, the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority (LVCVA), with which it had agreed to cooperate. Had made a contract for. Vegas Loop in 2019. (The Boring Company manages day-to-day operations, while the LVCVA plays a role in funding, strategic planning, and providing the political support The Boring needs to achieve its goals.)

“Environmental regulations are largely terrible in my view,” Musk said during an interview at a Buenos Aires political conference in June.

“Instead of paying a fine if you do something wrong, you will have to seek permission in advance, which I think will be more effective,” he said. “To say, 'Look, we're going to do this project. If something goes wrong we're going to have to pay a fine.' But we don't need to go through a three- or four-year environmental approval process.

Equally troubling is how Vegas Loop has managed to sidestep the standard public review process. ProPublica It was reported that Musk's company was hiding behind confusing fake names, which served to keep concerned citizens at home during all relevant Clark County Commission meetings.

When the agendas of those meetings were released, they did not list “Boring Company”. or “Vegas Loop” but also LLCs with names such as UC-23-0126-HCI-Cerberus 160 East Flamingo Hotel Owner LP, UC-20-0547-Claudine Propco, LLC, and UC-20-0547-Circus Circus LV, LLC, ProPublica found.

Currently, five of the proposed 68 miles of the Vegas Loop are complete and operational.