Bill earmarks $4 million for NLV Hazmat center

Monday, June 20, 2005 | 11:05 a.m.

SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON -- The Senate is poised to approve $4 million for a national hazardous materials tracking center to be based in North Las Vegas.

The money will be used to continue developing the Hazmat Emergency Response Operations and Information Center (HEROIC), a partnership of the federal government, communications technology company QUALCOMM and UNLV.

The program, to be located in a new, secure high-tech QUALCOMM building on a 32-acre campus on Cheyenne Avenue in North Las Vegas, ultimately could track by satellite the nation's 800,000 daily truck shipments of hazardous materials, according to the office of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. A ground-breaking ceremony on the new building is scheduled for July 5.

The new building would house a number of QUALCOMM programs and research projects, including the hazmat truck-tracking program.

The program is being designed to coordinate emergency responses to accidents or attacks on hazardous material shipments. The center's technology could provide emergency responders with precise truck locations and handling instructions for the materials involved, according to Reid's office. Center personnel also could put responders in immediate contact with experts who can help direct locals in containment and clean-up, said Reid, who included the $4 million in a Homeland Security spending bill.

"Right now we have dangerous materials traveling across our country with no contingency plans for an emergency," Reid said in a statement today. "HEROIC will give us the information we need to manage the chemical spill and keep people safe."

Congress approved $2 million to begin developing the center last year. The Senate is preparing to approve this year's Homeland Security spending bill, which contains the $4 million for HEROIC. San Diego-based QUALCOMM gave Reid $10,000 in the 2004 election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign contributions.