HHH Investments was granted relief by the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission Wednesday from some special conditions to expand a sewer treatment plant on Jane Avenue.

The property, at 6601 E. Jane Ave. and 6591 E. Jane Ave., is between Susquehanna Street and Kellogg Road, near where the Floyd Elementary School is planned. The land was zoned village residential in the Pahrump comprehensive zoning study, approved last June, a zoning category which was modified to allow for utility plants after some input from the developer, but a conditional use permit is still required.

The plans call for increasing the plant capacity from 600,000 gallons per day to 2.6 million gallons, as part of a third phase facility expansion, which includes an equalization basin and additional rapid infiltration basins.

The sewer treatment plant, operated by Pahrump Utility Company, serves the Artesia, Cottonwoods and Mountain Falls developments, as well as Hafen Elementary School and Terrible's Lakeside Casino.

A letter from Greg Hafen, secretary of Pahrump Utility Company Inc., states, "This expansion is necessary to satisfy contractual obligations we are required to meet and to accommodate the additional developments in PUCI's service territory, which includes Adaven (American West Homes), Anchor/Goff, Beazer, Concordia, Hafen properties and PV/Focus land."

Officials with Concordia Homes of Nevada began construction of their Pleasant Valley project early this year, with plans for 833 residential lots. Beazer Homes began its Tesora at Pahrump project, which has another 586 lots platted.

The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection and Public Utilities Commission of Nevada already approved the plans. HHH Investments is required to submit a site development plan to ensure zero odor emissions and adequate buffers from residential neighborhoods.

Doug Dinger, who lives across the street, complained about the odor. He said the problem isn't from the plant itself, which is buffered by pine trees and landscaping, but from the trucks from Joe's Sanitation emptying septic tank loads.

"They empty the Port-a-Potties and they don't put any odor control on these things," Dinger said. "They need to do the odor control and that's going to affect everybody there. I don't live in Artesia, I know they have a homeowners' association."

He added, "We were all deceived and thought it was going to be a green belt area."

Todd and Kathleen Houchens, residents at 4660 E. Sandpiper St., wrote that when they bought their lot in phase four of the Artesia development they were informed by a sales associate the area was planned to be a greenbelt, irrigated with treated water from the treatment facility.

"We were not the only owners to be told that this was a planned greenbelt area," Houchens wrote. "We would have never purchased our lot and built our dream home in the proximity of such a facility."

Greg Hafen said there's no other place for Joe's Sanitation to dump loads outside of going to Las Vegas, at a significant expense.

"They bring the septic tank pumpings from the whole valley. The septic tank pumpings come down to a de-watering facility," Tim Hafen said. "It is dried on the property to the point they can roll it off to a landfill."

Greg Hafen said "We're serving kind of a community need. They process our sludge." He said the septic material does create some odors, adding they have had discussions with Joe's Sanitation, owned by Pahrump Valley Disposal, about constructing a building over the area where the septic material is dumped to control the odor.

Pahrump town board representative Laurayne Murray said the actual expansion of the plant wouldn't contribute to the odor problem.

Greg Hafen received concessions from the RPC on a requirement to complete construction within three years or the conditional use permit will expire. Pahrump Utilities Co. will be required to begin construction by that date. Hafen said the different quadrants of the plant will be built as needed and may not be totally finished for 15 to 20 years.

The Hafens were also granted a waiver from a requirement to pave three-quarters of a mile of Jane Avenue along the sewer plant site. Greg Hafen argued there would only be four vehicles daily traveling into the sewer plant. Jane Avenue is on the county chip-seal list for next year.

Richard Lopez, Nye County public works representative, said his boss, Samson Yao wouldn't object to waiving the street paving. But he added, "I would like to point out there is an elementary school going in north of the property."

"The trucks going in and out of that property may have a tendency to tear up the chip-seal," he said.

The plans for the Floyd Elementary call for paving in front of the school, Lopez added there would be students walking in front of the treatment plant.

Greg Hafen said Pahrump Utility Co. doesn't have a way to recoup the cost of paving Jane Avenue in its rate structure with the Public Utility Commission. He said the paving would be "a tremendous cost." Lopez suggested Pahrump Utility then participate in a cost participation agreement with other developers to pave Jane Avenue, a suggestion that was also rejected.

Tim Hafen then joined in the discussion. "Our contention is it isn't justified. You can't justify paving sidewalks, curbs or even paving half a street for three-quarters of a mile for the amount of traffic we'll be generating, and that isn't even our primary entrance -- our primary entrance is on Kensington."

Lopez figured the traffic into the plant could increase up to fourfold, as the plant is currently only at 23 percent of capacity.

HHH Investments also is planning a 2-million-gallon-per-day sewer plant on Turner Boulevard and Fox Avenue, on 2.5 acres of a 40-acre tract, which fronts on two sides by U.S. Bureau of Land Management property. Hafen received approval from Nye County commissioners last October to rezone 120 acres at that site to VR-8, where the Hafens plan to build 450 homes. The sewer plant there will serve 7,000 to 10,000 homes, Greg Hafen said.

Tim Hafen indicated after Wednesdays meeting the Jane Avenue sewer plant could serve as a backup in case the Turner Boulevard plant isn't approved.