Panelists urge limit on Nellis land deal

Wednesday, Feb. 17, 1999 | 11:19 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- An Assembly committee, taking issue with Gov. Kenny Guinn, today unanimously approved a resolution calling on Congress to allow Nellis Air Force Base to use its 3 million-acre bombing range for an additional 15 years, rather than locking up the land permanently.

Assemblyman Doug Bache, chairman of the Government Affairs Committee, said Guinn "made a naive mistake as a newly elected official" when he recommended last November the Air Force be able to control the land forever.

"I don't think he (Guinn) reviewed all the information," Bache said.

But Guinn's Chief of Staff Pete Ernaut said this morning that the governor was sticking to his position of giving Nellis a permanent lock on the land.

"Make no mistake that this was thoroughly reviewed."

Ernaut said the governor was "disappointed" at Bache's remarks. "He (Guinn) hopes Chairman Bache will join him in supporting the economy of Clark County and national security," Ernaut said.

Bache, D-Las Vegas, said that Ernaut was a former Assembly member on the committee and that the governor's policy adviser, Denice Miller, was a researcher for the committee. He said he did not believe those two hold Guinn's position.

But Ernaut said both he and Miller "support the governor's position unequivocally."

Bache, who sponsored the Nellis resolution, said Nevada has a history of trying to return land to the state from the federal government. And he said a 15-year renewal of the Air Force's lease was appropriate.

If today's resolution -- Assembly Joint Resolution 1 -- is approved by both the full Assembly and full Senate, it will go to the secretary of state for forwarding to both houses of Congress and individual members of the Nevada congressional delegation. Resolutions are used to express the intent of the Legislature in regard to federal issues, and also in cases where the Legislature is amending the state Constitution. Unlike bills, resolutions do not become law.

Congress in 1986 agreed to allow the Air Force a 15-year withdrawal of the range in Clark, Nye and Lincoln counties. The agreement expires in 2001 unless it is renewed.

The resolution also asks that the Air Force return some of the land it doesn't need to allow mining or recreational uses.

Douglas Bierman, representing Lincoln County and Caliente, told the committee the two local governments were "disappointed" when Guinn announced his support for a permanent lock-up of the land. He said Guinn never consulted either the county or the city. Eight percent of Lincoln County's land is tied up in the bombing range.

Bierman said Lincoln County derives little economic benefit from the bombing range. All the benefit goes to Clark County, he said, adding that if some of the land were released, it would help with economic development in the area.

Assemblyman Roy Neighbors, D-Tonopah, said he has been working for two years with Nevada's congressional delegation to get the Air Force to release 40,000 to 50,000 acres about 10 miles from Beatty for possible mining. He said this property is "highly mineralized" and now serves as a buffer zone to the bombing range.

Last year, Neighbors said, the Air Force allowed hunters to go into the area, which has not yet been drilled for mining exploration.

The range includes the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear dump and the Air Force's secret Area 51 testing base. And it is used to conduct extensive aerial war games.

Ernaut said today that Guinn took the position backing permanent withdrawal for "two important reasons. Nellis is an integral part of the Clark County economy, providing thousands of jobs, and the governor believed if the military was going to make a long-term commitment to this, the state needed to make a long-term commitment to the military.

"Secondly, Nellis is the largest tactical bombing range in the world. It is crucial to national security. It is highly unlikely that a bombing range would ever be used for recreational purposes."

Bache said if the Legislature agreed to lock up the land longer than 15 years, the federal government might interpret that to mean the state is willing to negotiate for the nuclear dump. He said he did not want to send that message to Congress.