The Pahrump Alliance Valley Economic Development nonprofit corporation, formed to foster Pahrump's economic growth, was appointed as the town's liaison to work with the county and a yet-to-be-named firm should one of two Pahrump sites be selected for a federal detention center.

Pahrump has two town-owned sites listed in the draft environmental impact study that has been completed.

One is a 40-acre lot on Parque Avenue and the other is located at East Mesquite Avenue and Power Line Road.

Neither of the sites, however, has access to water, and that's where PAVED offered to assist the town.

The organization offered to investigate the potential of having a municipal water and wastewater facility at whichever site the detention center is built.

"We wanted to be frontrunner on this," Paula Glidden, president of PAVED, said. "We'd like to start now and we'd like to just be a leading force, with the county, and we would like to bring forth information about this."

She pointed out that, should the facility be built here, a municipal water facility could help the detention center be self-sustaining and as such help lead to the economic growth of the town.

Vice Chairman John McDonald pointed out that there were three firms up for the job of building the detention center but he had not heard from them about any problems with water or wastewater facility.

Glidden responded that she had been in touch with the various firms and they were all aware they might need to come up with their own plan for providing the prisoners with potable water and wastewater storage, and it is in a fact an issue they are considering.

The draft environmental impact statement, for which a public comment session is being held next week, does acknowledge the option of extending a main Utilities Inc. water line.

The draft EIS also states that wastewater collection is not available at the sites and neither of them are located in the Utilities Inc. tariff area.