NLV’s council to lease land for sewage treatment project

North Las Vegas will pay the U.S. Air Force $25 million for a 50-year lease of 40 acres near Nellis Boulevard and Carey Avenue, where the city plans to build its own sewage treatment plant.

The City Council approved the expenditure 4-1 on Wednesday. Councilman William Robinson voted against it.

North Las Vegas Mayor Michael Montandon called the project "unsexy but so important."

The city has estimated that it will save more than $140 million over the next several decades by handling its own waste.

Currently, North Las Vegas contracts with Las Vegas for wastewater services.

Building the $213 million sewage treatment plant at the Nellis-Carey site is a good fit, city officials said, in part because gravity can be used to move sewage. The city will not have to pay to pump the waste uphill.

As part of the agreement, once the plant opens, North Las Vegas will provide free water to the Nellis Air Force Base golf course for 25 years.