Lake Las Vegas breathes easier; no explosives

Friday, June 30, 2006 | 7:36 a.m.

Hours before the Henderson Planning Commission was to consider a request by Lake Las Vegas to store high explosives in the luxury community, the developer on Thursday withdrew its proposal.

The developer had sought a permit from the city on behalf of Donner Drilling & Blasting, a contractor that is clearing hillsides of rock to accommodate home construction. Donner wanted to store explosives nearby rather than truck them to the job site from elsewhere.

But on Thursday - when the Sun published a story detailing plans to construct the storage facility near the corner of Lake Mead and Lake Las Vegas parkways - the developer sent an e-mail to residents saying it had changed its mind.

"Safety is our first concern, and in spite of the support from the city and other law enforcement agencies, the actual location of the storage facility has received too much attention," according to the e-mail. "At this time, Lake Las Vegas Resort does not consider it wise to move forward."

Officials from Henderson and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said the facility, 3,350 feet from the nearest homes, would be safe because of the separation of explosives in three silos and the use of earthen berms.

City officials had worried that media coverage of the facility's location would alert terrorists and thieves.

The region has other explosives storage facilities at quarries, industrial centers and in the desert, but their locations are not generally known.

City staff had proposed that Lake Las Vegas provide security guards at the storage silos on nights and weekends. Donner also planned to have a camera system and use Lake Las Vegas' roving security patrols.

Lake Las Vegas officials said they hadn't received any complaints from residents, but many said they were upset and are relieved the project has been withdrawn. Lake Las Vegas officials didn't notify residents and homeowners because they did not live within the distance that required notification from City Hall.

"I am elated," said Joshua Abbey, who lives in Villa di Lago on the north shore. "They are responding to the concerns of the residents here. Common sense has prevailed."

"It makes us feel a lot better," said Vic Papushak, who suffered a broken window after a June 5 blast. "I know they said it would be relatively safe, but they can't give us any guarantees. It would still be unnerving because we know it is there These are multimillion-dollar homes. We don't want any explosives around. It would keep people from coming here, and it would reduce property values."

Donner apparently will continue to bring in explosives from its storage facility 25 miles northeast of downtown Las Vegas.

It wanted to store up to 5,000 pounds of high explosives, 5,000 pounds of detonators and 50,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer used as a blasting agent. Another 18,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate would have been stored on a truck.