$27 million in military projects headed for Nevada

RENO - More than $27 million in funding for military projects is headed for Nevada under a bill signed late last week by President Clinton.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the bill will provide $5 million for 26 new family housing units at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas and $6.3 million for a new hangar at the Fallon Naval Air Station.

The bill also will provide nearly $4.5 million for a new Nevada Army National Guard administration complex in Carson City and $1.5 million for armory improvements in Winnemucca, Ely, Elko, Fallon and Yerington.

In addition, the measure will provide funding to replace fuel storage tanks at the Fallon base and to construct a new fuel storage complex at the Air National Guard facility in Reno.

The fuel storage tanks are needed to meet new Environmental Protection Agency rules designed to protect communities from contamination.

Reid secured the funding as a member of the conference committee that ironed out differences between the Senate and House versions of the bill. Clinton signed the bill Thursday.

Reid, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the 26 new family units are urgently needed at Nellis because of the base's expanded operations and continued growth in the Las Vegas area.

''(The units) will be essential in meeting the needs of our fighting men and women and their families for high quality military housing,'' he said.

The new hangar at Fallon will be devoted for corrosion control of Navy aircraft. Such work is an essential part of their standard maintenance, and is now being done in conventional hangars.

''This practice creates a potential safety hazard which could endanger personnel over the long run,'' Reid said.

''Construction of a new hangar will allow crews to work in a safer environment, with the proper heating and ventilation required to operate 12 months a year.''