Tank safeguards imposed on Sandy Valley project

Folks who live in a desert town at Nevada's western border have no gas station nearby where they can fill up.

Sandy Valley residents typically work in the Las Vegas area and buy gasoline there because it's cheaper than in the neighboring community of Jean.

Many would rather deal with that inconvenience than risk having a local gas station contaminate the underground aquifer, their sole source of water.

A dozen residents made an hour drive to a Clark County Commission meeting Wednesday to protest a gas station, car wash and mini-mart that a developer wants to build in Sandy Valley.

"We're playing old-fashioned (Russian) roulette," said Sandy Valley resident John Bacher. "We do have a fragile water situation."

Commissioners listened to neighbors' pleas and then approved the service station.

However, they also imposed tougher safeguards than the state requires for preventing underground leaks.

"I take this very seriously," Commissioner Susan Brager said.

The land already is zoned to accommodate a gas station. The only reason the project came before the commission was because of design changes, said attorney Christopher Kaempfer, who represents developer Alex Popovic.

The commission can't block the project, but it can review the building designs, Kaempfer said.

Commissioners Tom Collins and Rory Reid recalled that when the gas station was first presented to the commission in 2005, residents supported it. The board, in turn, approved rezoning the land for commercial use.

Reid told residents that the county can't stop a property owner from doing what the zoning allows, so it's best to fight an unwanted project before the zoning has been decided.

To increase safety, underground storage tanks must be triple-lined, and the pipes running to the pumps must be double-lined, commissioners ordered.

Also, a double-layered sump must be placed beneath the tanks to catch any fuel seeping into the ground.

Kaempfer said these safeguards surpass those required in earthquake-prone California.

Still, residents' fears weren't allayed.

The underground tank that collects car wash runoff is only single-lined and, if ruptured, could leak dirty water into the aquifer, said Sandy Valley resident Robert Ringer. "It's only 35 feet from the bottom of that tank to our water."

David Amon of Sandy Valley argued that gasoline sold at such a remote site will be more expensive. People will buy just enough fuel there to get them to the cheaper pumps in Las Vegas, possibly leading to the station going bust, Amon said.

A defunct gas station would be an eyesore and eco-hazard, Amon said.

Carol Benner, another resident, said developers don't live in Sandy Valley, so they don't care whether the water supply is fouled.

"Investors do not share this risk with us," Benner said.

Contact reporter Scott Wyland at swyland @reviewjournal.com or (702) 455-4519.