SPECIAL TO THE PVT A design of the Gateway project proposed for the the entrance to Yucca Mountain. Advertisement

The Gateway Center, a conceptual, multi-phased plan for encouraging industrial and commercial development at the entrance to the proposed Yucca Mountain Project was unveiled last month.

The seven-phase concept, taking in nine sections of land, is intended to serve as a planning guide for Nye County and the U.S. Department of Energy. It includes proposed office parks, research parks, a 435-acre contractors lay down yard, warehousing space, visitors center, a renewable energy park and 1,375 acres of development reserves at the southernmost part that are excluded from residential development.

Nye County consultant Mary Ellen Giampaoli states the Gateway plan is consistent with the Nuclear Waste Policy, as mitigation for the expected impacts of Yucca Mountain. The industrial development would help ensure ancillary areas are protected from transporting vast quantities of construction materials and after completion, the safe movement of converging nuclear waste shipments.

The business opportunities can mitigate impacts of the expanding population and improve schools, medical facilities, recreation opportunities even entertainment venues, the report states.

"Nye County believes that a number of industrial and commercial opportunities will emerge as a result of repository development and that a certain percentage of people working either directly or indirectly on the YMP will choose to live in the surrounding area," Giampaoli states in summarizing the Gateway Area concept.

The Gateway concept plan envisions widening Highway 95 to four lanes from Mercury north to Beatty, a 64 mile segment. The Gate 510 road would be upgraded and rerouted to the east to align with Highway 373, which would be the main entrance from Highway 95 to the Yucca Mountain repository, the plan states.

The Gateway would represent about nine square miles south of the Gate 510 entrance to the Nevada Test Site at Lathrop Wells. It includes a three mile segment of Highway 95 as well as 41 acres privately-owned, which includes two truck stops, a brothel, an RV park, private residence and material lay-down yard leased by the Nye County nuclear waste repository project office.

Giampaoli notes as southern Nye County communities grow in relation to increased activities at Yucca Mountain, the county will work to expand infrastructure at Amargosa Valley and Beatty, providing a framework to develop commerce and industry for community life that will be attractive to new and existing Yucca Mountain employees.

A natural gas line would have to be extended 87 miles from Las Vegas to the site, the report states. She added while Southwest Gas expressed little interest previously in extending a natural gas pipeline to Pahrump, a revised proposal from Nye County could request transmitting natural gas from the Kern River pipeline to the Gateway area via Pahrump.

The Nye County School District has preliminary plans to construct a new three-building campus near Anvil Road and School Lane in Amargosa Valley, with separate buildings for elementary and high school students, a mile east of the existing school, the report states.

A Nye County emergency services group, including law enforcement, fire department and medical services, has been proposed to the U.S. Department of Energy. The fire station, medical facilities, law enforcement facilities and other buildings for this group would be constructed in the Gateway Area.

Giampaoli states Nye County is negotiating with the DOE for a fire department staffed with nine full-time firefighters to be stationed in the Gateway Area to respond to any fire emergencies and hazardous material incidents.

The report adds, "Nye County proposed to DOE to establish a jointly-operated, integrated medical facility in the Gateway Area." It would be located near Gate 510.

A wellness clinic could include fitness and swimming facilities and child day care.

Traffic being routed to the repository would be separated from Highway 95 by a bypass, the project envisions. A shuttle bus could provide transportation for employees from Amargosa Valley, Beatty and Pahrump.

A visitors center would provide tourists with an orientation of the nation's nuclear waste program.

"The Gateway Area offers an efficient, attractive and interactive working environment for YMP employees and related business entities," the report states. It adds, "Because of its proximity to the site, it also offers enhanced adjunct opportunities in waste management research, science and monitoring, visitor learning and commercial business expansion."

DOE can create a more inclusive community of managers, scientists, engineers, technicians and administrators at the site, Giampaoli notes. The relocation of existing DOE contractors and corporate offices from Las Vegas would provide a high quality, near-site working environment for day-to-day management and administration of Yucca Mountain project activities, she said.

A solar research center and renewable energy demonstration park could include wind turbines and solar panels to supplement on-site power requirements, Giampaoli suggested. An area to the north could house interactive science and research facilities over the Yucca Mountain performance and other aspects of the waste management program, she said.

A commercial area, south of Highway 95, could include automobile service facilities, RV parks, hotels, dining and retail shops.

The ideal situation would be for Nye County to become the landowner, but Giampaoli notes the BLM disposal land isn't likely to be conveyed to Nye County via congressional action. The county could adopt a zoning ordinance to review land management under the Amargosa Valley master plan.

Congressional legislation passed in 1999 allowed Nye County the exclusive right to purchase 354 acres at the entrance to Yucca Mountain at fair market value and 470 acres at special government prices that would be used for a museum, research center and renewable energy project.

Nye County purchased the first 61 acres in 2002 to establish the Amargosa Valley Science and Technology Park.

Giampaoli concludes: "It can be reasonably assumed that development of the lands will begin within the next five year period. Further, if DOE receives a license to proceed with repository construction, the rate of land development can reasonably be expected to accelerate."