The Office of the Federal Detention Trustee will hold a public hearing to solicit comments on the draft environmental impact statement for the proposed federal detention center at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 17, at the Bob Ruud Community Center.

The U.S. Department of Justice is looking to locate a federal detention center, to house from 1,000 to 1,500 prisoners awaiting trial in U.S. district courts, at one of four locations.

Two are on the northeast side of Pahrump Valley east of Highway 160: at 2250 E. Mesquite Ave. and 630 E. Parque Ave.

Two others under study are in Clark County, in Apex and Moapa Valley, both northeast of Las Vegas.

The trustee's office estimates the federal detention center would take 12 to 15 months to construct and employ 200 to 250 people. The environmentally-preferred location for the detention center has yet to be determined.

Both Pahrump sites were cleared of any protected animal or plant species, and didn't contain any historical artifacts that would prevent consideration under the National Environmental Policy Act.

Those unable to attend may submit their comments to: Scott Stermer, assistant trustee-procurement, U.S. Department of Justice, office of the federal detention trustee, 4601 N. Fairfax Dr., Ninth Floor, Arlington, VA 22203.

The telephone number is 202-353-4601, or fax to 202-353-4611. The Web address to email comments is: Scott.Stermer2@usdoj.gov. All written comments must be received by Feb. 4.