Exhibit  99

For Immediate Release / Monday, August 9, 2004
Contact: Chad Hyslop (208) 331-8400
info@americanecology.com     www.americanecology.com
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                AMERICAN ECOLOGY ANNOUNCES SETTLEMENT OF NEBRASKA
                       LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE LAWSUIT

   Company Share of Settlement Approximately $12 Million Paid Over Four Years

     BOISE, IDAHO - Stephen Romano, President and Chief Executive Officer of
American Ecology Corporation [NASDAQ:ECOL] today announced that the State of
Nebraska and the Central Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Commission
("CIC") have settled a lawsuit brought against the State for bad faith in the
licensing process for the proposed low-level radioactive waste ("LLRW") disposal
facility near Butte, Nebraska.

     As a contractor to the CIC, subsidiary US Ecology stands to recover
approximately $12 million over four years, subject to certain conditions and a
contingent discount on the total $154 million CIC settlement. In September 2002,
the U.S. District Court for Nebraska awarded $151 million to the CIC. This
judgment, affirmed in its entirety by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth
Circuit, identified US Ecology damages of $6.2 million for work performed plus
$6.1 million in interest for a total of $12.3 million.

     "We are very pleased that this longstanding dispute has been settled,"
Romano stated, adding "we look forward to making arrangements with the CIC to
receive our pro rata share of the settlement proceeds as payments are made." The
Company anticipates recording a settlement gain in Other Income when it and the
CIC agree on the Company's specific share of the settlement and payment
arrangements. The Company currently maintains a $6.5 million deferred site
development asset on its balance sheet.

     Under today's settlement agreement, Nebraska agreed to make four equal
payments of $38.5 million to the CIC beginning on August 1, 2005, and annually
thereafter for three years. The $154 million settlement reflects a principal
amount of $140.5 million plus interest of 3.75%, compounded annually and
beginning August 1, 2004.

     Settlement payments are subject to appropriation by Nebraska's unicameral
legislature. However, should the Nebraska legislature fail to appropriate the
required payments, the State would lose the benefit of any and all consideration
otherwise granted to it by the Agreement and the CIC would retain rights to
pursue enforcement by all legal means available. As part of the settlement,
Nebraska expressly waived any claim to sovereign immunity to a suit filed in
Nebraska or federal court to enforce payment, and further agreed to dismiss its
pending petition for certiorari review to the U.S. Supreme Court on the $151
million federal court judgment.



     The principal amount may be reduced to $130 million plus interest in the
contingent event that Nebraska and the CIC are successful in jointly negotiating
suitable access to an intended Texas Compact disposal site. The State of Texas
has not taken a position on the proposal to accept low-level radioactive waste
from CIC member states.

     US Ecology submitted its application to construct and operate the proposed
Butte, Nebraska disposal site in 1990. In December of 1998, the State of
Nebraska denied the license. Four electric utility companies that substantially
funded the project sued Nebraska alleging bad faith. The CIC was originally
joined in the suit as a defendant, but was later realigned as a plaintiff. US
Ecology intervened to recover its contributions to the project, and appealed the
State's proposed license denial decision. The latter appeal remains pending
subject to receipt of payment under the settlement.

     American Ecology Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides
radioactive, PCB, hazardous and non-hazardous waste services to commercial and
government customers throughout the United States, such as nuclear power plants,
steel mills, medical and academic institutions, refineries and chemical
manufacturing facilities. Headquartered in Boise, Idaho, the Company is the
oldest radioactive and hazardous waste services company in the United States.

     This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on
our current expectations, beliefs, and assumptions about legal and other matters
that could materially impact American Ecology Corporation and its subsidiaries.
Actual results or outcomes may differ materially from what is expressed herein
and no assurance can be given that the Nebraska legislature will appropriate the
agreed sums or that the Company will ultimately recover its pro rata share of
the intended settlement payments. For this and other information on factors that
could cause actual results to differ from expectations, please refer to American
Ecology Corporation's Report on Form 10-K and its most recent Form 10-Q filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission.


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