The federal government has started looking at building a new federal detention center in Southern Nevada to help ease overcrowding in local jails and to stop housing inmates out of state.

The detention center, which could be up and running by December 2008, will be used to house between 850 and 1,000 federal prisoners, officials said.

"We need the space," said Fidencio Rivera, chief deputy U.S. marshal in Las Vegas.

The U.S. Marshals Service houses about 285 detainees in the North Las Vegas jail and another 10 in the Las Vegas jail.

But because of a lack of bed space in Clark County, the agency houses between 150 and 200 detainees more than 350 miles away at a jail in Florence, Ariz.

"Vegas is only going to grow, and we have a responsibility to find housing for federal pre-sentence prisoners. But right now, we don't have sufficient space in Southern Nevada," Rivera said.

The Office of the Federal Detention Trustee sent a pre-solicitation notice in December for anyone interested in operating the prison. The notice asks for companies to build and operate the facility and provide all transportation services for up to 250 miles.

The facility must be built within 75 miles of the federal courthouse in downtown Las Vegas, but because of the high price of land in Clark County, officials said the jail probably will be built in a rural town such as Pahrump.

For years, federal officials have pushed for a new federal detention center to be built for Southern Nevada inmates as more people are held here. Also, housing inmates hundreds of miles from Las Vegas -- where their attorneys are based -- makes it more difficult for attorneys to get access to their clients, officials said.

Though the Marshals Service contracts with local jails to house inmates, the cost has been increasing. The agency pays North Las Vegas almost $79 a day to house inmates. In 2005, the agency paid $72 a day.

"It's a very good step forward," outgoing U.S. Attorney Dan Bogden said.

But not everyone is pleased with the proposed jail. Franny Forsman, federal public defender in Las Vegas, said building the prison 75 miles from Las Vegas still will be a burden for defense attorneys.

While Forsman admits that it would be closer than Florence and therefore easier on attorneys, she said it still would be far enough away to make it difficult for lawyers to see their clients during the all-important pretrial phase of a case.

"It doesn't make me happy that we have to drive 90 miles (the approximate distance to Pahrump from Las Vegas) in order to see our clients. But it's better than flying to Florence," she said.

Last year, the federal public defender's office spent about $100,000 in travel expenses to Florence, she said.

Several private companies have expressed interest in the plan, and Nye County officials also are hoping to build and operate the jail.

Nye County Sheriff Tony DeMeo said the county has been completing the required environmental impact studies needed to submit a bid for the jail. He said the facility could be built on a 40-acre site in a non-residential area of Pahrump a few miles from a garbage dump that is slated to be closed.

"From my standpoint, it would enhance the area, not be a blight to it," DeMeo said.

He said he has pushed for a new detention center to be built in Pahrump since 2003, and the pre-solicitation notice issued by the federal government offered a perfect opportunity.

DeMeo envisions building a 500-bed facility, with about 400 of the beds to be rented out to the federal government.

But Nye County officials have some stiff competition if they want the contract. Some of the biggest operators of private correctional facilities, such as Corrections Corporation of America and The Geo Group Inc., appear to be interested in building and operating the jail.

Pablo Paez, director of corporate relations for Geo, said the company, as a matter of policy, does not comment on ongoing or potential procurements.

Corrections Corporation of America confirmed that it is looking into building a jail in Pahrump.

"We are looking into sites that would meet the requirements for the pre-solicitation notice," company spokesman Steve Owens said.

He declined to elaborate on how much it would cost to build and operate the facility because of the possibility of competitive bidding with other companies.