The deadline to submit public comment and requests for consulting party status is June 27 for the review process for the City of Fernley’s proposed East Wastewater Treatment Plant expansion.
The city is pursuing federal and state funding for the project, including through the U.S. Economic Development Administration. Under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, the city is required to identify and consult with all parties, including historical groups, preservation nonprofits, neighborhood associations and citizen groups, to determine whether construction could affect historic properties in or near the plant site.
The city’s East Wastewater Treatment Plant is located about four miles east of downtown between Interstate 80 and U.S. Highway 50A. It treats wastewater collected across the city and discharges effluent to the Fernley Wildlife Management Area.
All proposed construction will take place within the plant’s existing site on an industrial parcel. The city plans to build a mechanical treatment system; switch to an on-site sodium hypochlorite generation system using salt to treat water instead of the chlorine solution currently in use; and design infrastructure to reuse treated wastewater. The project will also deactivate open waste ponds that have operated since 1988.
During a City Council meeting last August, Christine Brandon, executive director of the Western Nevada Development District, said the upgrades and improvements would support a city population of about 65,000 residents. She also said improving the quality of the effluent leaving the plant would allow the city to sell it to industrial users instead of allowing it to flow to the wildlife management area.
At that meeting, the council voted unanimously to proceed with the design, planning and prioritization of the recommended Phase 1 improvements to the wastewater treatment plant at a projected cost of about $10.3 million. Phase 2 improvements, anticipated to be needed by 2031, are expected to cost approximately $17.1 million.
The review’s Area of Potential Effect (APE) covers the 55-acre plant site and several adjacent public parcels, including the Fernley Wildlife Management Area, which receives treated water from the facility. Local groundwater, the TCID Canal and the Truckee River are also included in the review area.
The city is inviting historical societies, preservation nonprofits, neighborhood associations and interested individuals to participate in the review process. Separately, the city initiated government-to-government consultations on May 13 with seven regional Native American tribes, including the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe and the Walker River Paiute Tribe.
Written comments and consulting-party requests must be submitted by the June 27 deadline to Grant Administrator Trisha L. Livingston at 595 Silver Lace Blvd., Fernley, NV 89408, or by email at [email protected]. Full project documents and engineering reports are available upon request.
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