Grant from EPA will help look for petroleum waste
Wednesday, May 11, 2005 | 8:39 a.m.
The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded North Las Vegas a $200,000 grant to look for petroleum waste on downtown properties and develop a plan for its cleanup as a way to spur more redevelopment.
The city requested the grant to evaluate 700 acres in the redevelopment zone bordered by Interstate 15 to the west, Owens Avenue to the south, Cheyenne Avenue to the north and Pecos Road to the east.
The study will assess sites that once housed service stations, repair shops and auto junk yards, where hydrocarbons remain on the surface or in the ground.
This preliminary work will enable the city to seek federal funds for cleaning up the properties, which are primarily privately owned.
Kenny Young, the city's deputy director of planning and development, said the evaluation and cleanup of properties will encourage developers to acquire the sites for retail and office projects.
Some sites remain vacant because of concerns over liability and the cost of any cleanup, Young said.
"It would be just a giant uncertainty on the balance sheets for developers," said Steve Simanonok, a brownfields coordinator for the EPA. "A developer is not going to buy into that uncertainty."
The evaluation may simply be drilling holes over a former gas station to determine if tanks have leaked petroleum, Simanonok said.
In some cases soil needs to be removed, and in other cases, hydrocarbons can be treated with microbes that ultimately degrade the pollutants.
Some hydrocarbons are carcinogens, Simanonok said. They may also emit vapors that get into buildings if they are not remediated, he said.
None of the sites expected to contain hydrocarbons are a threat to groundwater, Young said. He added there may be anywhere between one and 15 sites where hydrocarbons will be found in the ground.
"We don't know the number. That is one of the reasons we have to do an assessment," Young said. "You have experts who know what they are looking for out there."
archive
- Most Read
- Discussed
- Most E-mailed
- Pricing out wagers on the Pacquiao-Cotto fight
- Kruger hoping his team will play with grit
- RTC bus driver fired, arrested after allegedly attacking woman
- Two second-graders involved in shooting at bus stop
- CityCenter Realtors hit with cut in commissions
- Trainers scuffle at Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto weigh-in
- Shanghai’s maglev: Flying with both feet on the ground
- Hooters reports loss, says Chapter 11 possible
- Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs among stars in Las Vegas for Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto fight
- Gaming Control Board recommends licensing of CityCenter
Blogs
The Kats Report
New face of Monte Carlo includes all the faces of Caliendo
The Greene Room
Predicting this weekend's Mountain West football slate
Top Chef: Las Vegas
Top Chef Episode 11: Child's play
Miech Again
UNLV prez Smatresk is ready for some basketball (6 Comments)
Politics: The Early Line
Harry Reid's fourth TV ad begins running today
The Greene Room
Chad Ochocinco vs. Anderson Silva? That would be a sight ... (4 Comments)
Top Chef: Las Vegas
The Jet Stream: The three stages of chefdom
Calendar »
- 14 Sat
- 15 Sun
- 16 Mon
- 17 Tue
- 18 Wed
-
Pacquiao vs. Cotto at the MGM Grand Garden Arena
MGM Grand Garden Arena | 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.
-
Friends of India Diwali Celebration at Cashman Field with Dan Nainan
Cashman Field | 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
-
Norm MacDonald at the House of Blues
House of Blues
-
Boulder City Art Guild Winter Fest Fine Art Show
Boulder City Parks & Recreation
-
John Fogerty at the Star of the Desert Arena
Star of the Desert Arena | 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.
-
Emeril Lagasse Foundation’s 5th annual Carnivale du Vin
The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino | 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The Sun
Locally owned and independent for more than 50 years.
Technorati








