This bill amends the Apex Project, Nevada Land Transfer and Authorization Act of 1989 to update land management and transfer regulations, including defining involved parties, ensuring indefinite land withdrawal, and addressing mineral material sales, while mandating compliance with federal land laws.
Steven Horsford
Representative
NV-4
The Apex Area Technical Corrections Act amends the Apex Project, Nevada Land Transfer and Authorization Act of 1989 to clarify land management and usage regulations. It includes updated definitions, expands entities eligible for certain connections, ensures land withdrawals continue indefinitely, and addresses mineral material sales from land grading. The Act also mandates compliance with Federal land laws for all land transfers and rights-of-way.
Nevada's Apex Project Law Updated: City of North Las Vegas Added, Mineral Sale Rules Eased, Environmental Compliance Reaffirmed
This bill makes several technical but important updates to the 1989 law governing the Apex Project, a major industrial area near Las Vegas. It officially adds the City of North Las Vegas and the Apex Industrial Park Owners Association as key players alongside Clark County, ensuring they are involved in granting rights-of-way and connections within the project area. The legislation also clarifies that federal lands transferred for the project are permanently withdrawn from other public land laws, solidifying their status for industrial development.
New Players on the Field
The inclusion of the City of North Las Vegas and the Apex Industrial Park Owners Association (Section 3(b), Section 4(c)) formalizes their role in the ongoing development and management of the Apex site. This means they now have a direct say, along with Clark County, when it comes to establishing utility lines, roads, and other necessary infrastructure connections. Think of it as ensuring all the key local managers are officially looped into the planning process, which could streamline future development within the park.
Digging into Mineral Sales: A Streamlined Process
A notable change involves how mineral materials, like sand or gravel generated from grading land within the Apex site, can be sold (New Section 4(e)(3)). Typically, selling resources from public land requires a competitive bidding process to ensure fair market value. This amendment allows the Secretary of the Interior to sell these materials directly, without competition, quantity limits, or term limits, arguing that competition is 'impractical' under existing regulations (specifically citing 43 CFR § 3602.31(a)(2)). While this could speed up the process for developers who need to dispose of or acquire materials during construction, it removes the standard competitive checks designed to maximize public return. The sales must still be at 'not less than fair market value,' but the exemption from bidding and volume limits is significant.
Environmental Guardrails Remain
Despite the change in mineral sales, the bill adds a crucial reinforcement (New Section 6(d)). It explicitly states that all land transfers and rights-of-way granted under the Apex Act must comply with major federal land laws. This includes the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), which requires environmental assessments for federal actions, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA), the main law governing how Bureau of Land Management lands are managed for multiple uses. This serves as a reminder that even with technical updates and specific exemptions like the mineral sales rule, broader environmental reviews and land management principles still apply to activities within the Apex Project.