Sierra Army Depot, California

A 36,000-acre storage depot for weapons, vehicles, and petroleum/water distribution systems, established in 1942, and a disposal site for outdated military munitions. For decades rocket engines, ammunition, bombs, and propellants were either exploded or incinerated in the open air, which sent smoke, dust clouds, and toxic emissions billowing into the sky, culminating in the EPA declaring Sierra Army Depot California's top air polluter in 1999. In 2003, the depot halted open burning and detonation operations in response to protests and legal actions brought by assorted local and national stakeholders. Until 1993, Sierra was reportedly the West Coast's largest nuclear weapons storage depot. Located on Honey Lake, in a remote valley near the Nevada state line.