Proposed college site spurs concerns over public’s view

Greg Harman

Monday, June 19, 2000 | 10:56 a.m.

The proposed Nevada State College at Henderson -- which would border 300 acres of land contaminated with everything from pesticides, heavy metals and radioactive materials -- will be a safe place for students, officials say.

But public opinion on the safety of the site may be another matter.

"What concerns me is our critics will say you are still putting a college next to a toxic waste dump," said Regent Howard Rosenberg, speaking as a member of the Committee to Examine Locating a Four-Year State College in Henderson, which met on Friday.

A week before the university Board of Regents is due to budget money for the state college, the four-member panel met to consider environmental challenges facing the Henderson site and hear the results of needs assessment completed by the University and Community College System staff.

Should the Legislature approve the college, the first phase of construction of the school is expected to cost as much as $60 million.

Doug Zimmerman, chief of the Nevada Department of Environmental Quality's board of corrective actions, outlined plans to transport and dispose of the waste in a landfill behind the Black Mountain Industrial Complex off Warm Springs Road.

The remediation effort would include hauling the earth on a conveyor belt beneath Boulder Highway to the Warm Springs location and disposal in a plastic-lined trench monitored by sophisticated leak detection equipment.

"We're very confident the company can do this job and get this cleaned up," Zimmerman said, sidestepping Rosenberg's inquiry into possible public perception damage.

"So nobody could say it's a toxic dump?" Rosenberg asked.

Zimmerman responded that he personally preferred the term landfill.

But despite the stigma over environmental contamination, the committee was reassured that an immediate need exists for another a four-year school in Southern Nevada.

"There are particular demands being placed upon this workforce that could be met by a new state college," said Dr. Jane Nichols, vice chancellor of student and academic affairs for the University and Community College System of Nevada. "As the state's population continues to increase, we really need to look at the necessity of other institutions and other types of institutions."

Nichols said, however, the Henderson plan was not the "only answer" to the state's higher education needs.

The Board of Regents is expected to approve its capital expenditures for the upcoming year, including money for the state college, this week, she said.

Regent Mark Alden forecast that a pending aerospace boom at the Nevada Test Site, spurred by the possible entrance of private industry interests in the reusable launch vehicle field, would increase the need for bachelor degree programs preparing students for advanced study at UNLV.

"This is not just for Henderson, but for the economic viability of the entire state." Alden said. "This is not just a good idea -- it's a great idea."