Saturday, November 02, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
$7 million to help Fallon treat water
State loan, grant to target high arsenic levels
REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU
Gov. Kenny Guinn said Friday that nearly $7 million in loans and grants have been approved by the state to help the city of Fallon meet federal arsenic level standards in its water supply.
A $2 million loan and a $4.7 million grant have been awarded to the city to help build a water treatment facility.
"We are taking every step necessary to assist the city of Fallon in the construction of the water treatment facility," Guinn said. "This funding will go a long way to meet federally mandated standards."
The low-interest loan was awarded by the state Health Division through the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.
The Nevada Board for Financing Water Projects awarded the $4.7 million grant to the city for work on the treatment facility.
Arsenic is present in the city's water supply at a concentration of approximately 100 parts per billion, which exceeds the drinking water standard of 10 parts per billion.
An administrative order issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires the city of Fallon to construct a water treatment facility to remove arsenic from the city's water supply.
Construction on the arsenic removal facility began in October.
The city of Fallon and U.S. Naval Air Station Fallon are expected to be in compliance with the arsenic standards by April 2004. That would be 2 1/2 years earlier than a 2006 federal deadline.
Fallon is the site of a baffling childhood leukemia cluster affecting 16 people since 1997. Three have died. The cluster was first identified by health officials in 2000.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating the cluster and recently awarded a $1.5 million grant to the state to help in the effort to identify the cause of the disease outbreak.
The money will be used to develop a state version of a national public health tracking system.
Arsenic is a naturally occurring substance in Fallon water, and it has not been linked to leukemia. It has been linked to other forms of cancer, however.
