Bill for flood control plan advances
WASHINGTON -- A plan to shield property owners at the base of Sunrise Mountain at risk from flash flooding took a step Wednesday when it passed a House committee.
The bill directs the Bureau of Land Management to convey 65 acres to Clark County. The land would become part of a $9 million flood control project that is expected to protect neighborhoods along 1,800 acres abutting the mountainside.
At the same time, the House Committee on Natural Resources passed a measure that would provide land for a campus of the Nevada Cancer Institute.
The 80-acre conveyance from the BLM at Alta Drive and Hualapai Way would set aside land also for adjacent medical offices, a park, a 7.8-acre flood control channel and a water pumping station.
The land for the cancer institute would be donated by the government free of charge.
The bill calls for nearby commercial land to be sold "at fair market value" by Las Vegas. The proceeds would go into the fund that provides money for Nevada park and trail development and habitat conservation.
The cancer institute bill was sponsored by Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev.
The Sunrise Mountain bill was sponsored by Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev.
