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Aerojet 

 stalled on 

 land swap 



By Christopher Beall » /l 1 1 ^ 7 

 Review-Journal ' 



Two state environmental com- 

 mittees handed Aerojet-Nevada its 

 first significant setback Tuesday to 

 plans for a Florida-Nevada land 

 swap to build a solid-rocket motor 

 assembly pltint. 



The two statewide advisory com- 

 mittees approved a resolution call- 

 ing for an environmental impact 

 statement on the project, even 

 though federal laws do not require 

 one and Aerojet opposes it. 



The advisory committees, the 

 state Land Use Planning Advisory 

 Council and the state Multiple Use 

 Advisory Committee on Federal 

 Lands, met all day Tuesday at the 

 Thomas & Mack Center to discuss 

 various federal projects in Nevada. 



Their resolution, the first gov- 

 ernmental opposition to Aerojet's 

 plans for the Lincoln and Clark 

 counties project, said a project like 

 Aerojet's, which involves more 

 than SO square miles in Nevada, 

 should always have a formal envi- 

 ronmental impact statement that 

 follows federal and state regula- 

 tions. 



Environmental foes of Aerojet's 

 land swap program hove argued 

 that the environmental impact re- 

 port is needed to slow the speed of 

 the project and help a more thor- 

 ough review. 



Ralph Clark, general manager of 

 Aerojet's Nevada operation, said 

 his company believes a less formal 

 environmental report prepared by 

 a subcontractor for Aerojet is suffi- 

 cient to cover any envirormiental 

 concerns. 



But various members of the two 

 committees disagreed with Clark. 

 They said concerns over access to 

 public lands, use of water in the 

 area, the degree of mining activity 

 and protection of endangered spe- 

 cies have not been adequately ad- 

 dressed by the company. 



The controversy centers on a 

 plan that has been endorsed by all 

 four members of Nevada's congres- 

 sionnl dr'eention. 



To help Aerojet develop a plant 

 that will build solid rocket motors, 

 officials with the U.S. Department 

 of Interior arranged a swap of land 

 that they hope will protect the sen- 

 sitive Everglades area of Florida. 



Under the plan, which is subject 

 to Congressional approval, about 

 42,800 acres in Coyote Springs 

 Valley northeast of Las Vegas and 

 8,370 acres in Garfield Flats 

 around Hawthorne would be 

 turned over to Aerojet. 



In return. Aerojet would turn 

 Please see AER0JET/6B 



Aerojet 



From IB 



over to the Interior Department 

 4,660 acres of Florida wetlands. 

 The department would then sell 

 the Florida acreage to the South 

 Florida Water Management Dis- 

 trict and use the money from the 

 sale to buy land in a buffer zone 

 around the wildlife refuge in the 

 Everglades. 



The members of the Nevada 

 land use committees said Tuesday 

 they favored the general outline of 

 the land swap plan, commending it 

 as a good example of economic di- 

 versification for the state. 



But several members of the com- 

 mittees were disturbed to learn 

 from Clark that apparently no ex- 

 haustive mineral survey of the Ne- 

 vada land has been made prior to 

 approval of the land swap. 



The committee members were 

 also concerned that plans for in- 

 tense water use at the plant — 2 

 million gallons a day — would in- 

 crease the value of the land above 

 the price arranged in the land swap 

 deal. 



Because of these concerns and 

 others, the committees both voted 

 to ask Congress to require a formal 

 environmental impact statement. 



The state Land Use Planning 

 Advisory Council, with represenU- 

 tives from every Nevada county, 

 added an amendment to the resolu- 

 tion calling for an additional re- 

 view of the appraisal process that 

 led to the total acreage to be 

 swapped in Nevada and Florida. 



