Earmarks for Nevada projects in House bill

WASHINGTON -- A $212,000 earmark for Clark County to study wastewater treatment in Overton was part of a spending bill that passed the House on Wednesday.

A $27.6 billion bill that funds the Environmental Protection Agency and agencies within the Department of Interior passed 272-155.

Clark County will add $173,000 as its share of the study, according to Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., who announced the targeted spending that will be administered through the EPA's state and tribal grant program.

The study aims to identify where groundwater and runoff might be entering wastewater collection points in Overton that are showing "significant infiltration" of salts, Porter said.

The EPA bill also contains a $500,000 earmark grant for Fallon to make repairs to its wastewater treatment system, according to Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev.

Heller said the city has been financially stretched by federal requirements to build an arsenic treatment plant to remove the naturally occurring chemical from its drinking water. In the meantime, the federal spending will help Fallon fund repairs to its wastewater facilities, he said.