Guinn and feds discuss military air space plan

Gov. Kenny Guinn, Assemblyman Pete Goicoechea, R-Eureka, and other state officials got a preview Monday of military plans to expand aerial training along the Nevada-Utah border.

Guinn said the proposal to expand the existing airspace used by Hill Air Force Base in Utah and Nevada raised a number of concerns for the state - including that it might prevent construction of electrical generating plants near Ely. He said officials were concerned the proposed 650-foot smokestacks and a proposed field of wind turbines could be prohibited for safety reasons.

But Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Bill Anderson and Maj. Gen. Ron Bath said that won't be a problem because the Air Force training will all take place above 14,000 feet if the project wins approval. Current rules for the airspace allotment require all flights to be above 18,000 feet.

Bath said the Air Force needs permission to fly lower and to expand the existing airspace allotment along the border to provide training space for pilots flying the new F-22 Raptor fighter jets. The existing air space would be widened 12-18 miles from its existing 92-mile-wide corridor.

Goicoechea said there doesn't seem to be any benefit to either Elko or White Pine counties.

"But we want to make sure there's no negative," he said.

Before the changes, the proposal must go through the entire federal environmental review process.

County and state officials from a variety of agencies as well as individual residents of the area will all be given the chance to raise any concerns they have about the plan.

Anderson estimates the process will take more than a year to complete.