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BLM Nevada News BLM Grants Right of Way to Austin Wastewater Treatment Plant Battle Mountain, Nev.—The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) signed, March 23, a right-of-way grant that will give Lander County access to a planned wastewater treatment plant. The plant will be built on an 80-acre parcel of land that the BLM recently sold to Lander County. The parcel provides space for a new wastewater treatment and evaporation plant for the town of Austin and its surrounding areas. The new plant will eliminate the operational difficulties and odor problems that are occasionally noticeable at the present treatment and evaporation plant. According to Louis Lani, Chairman of Lander County Sewer and Water District Two, construction of the new plant is scheduled to begin early July and end in November. The plant will cost $1.7 million. No contractors have been selected yet. The land was sold at a special price of $10 per acre under the authority of the Recreation and Public Purpose Act of 1926 as amended. The Act permits the sale of public lands at a special price to state and local governments if the land is used for designated public projects. Such projects include landfills, schools, parks, monuments, libraries, and other recreational sites. The Act was passed to provide an easier way for local governments and nonprofit groups to obtain public land for public use. While state and local governments are entitled to a special price, nonprofit organizations are required to pay fair market value. The sale closed after the county completed all the requirements of assessing the environmental impact and design criteria. Funding for construction will come from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. For more information contact Schirete Zick, BLM Battle Mountain District Office Public Affairs Specialist, at (775) 635-4067. For information regarding the plant, contact Louis Lani, Cairman, Lander County Sewer and Water District Two, at (775) 964-2676. -BLM-
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