Project Will Create More Than 32,000 Nevada Jobs

July 12, 2011

Washington, D. C. – Nevada Senator Harry Reid announced today that the Department of Transportation has issued its Record of Decision (ROD) for the DesertXpress Project: the final step of the Environmental Impact Statement process. With the completion of this comprehensive review of environmental impacts, DesertXpress will be able to continue to work on their proposal.

“Today’s announcement is about one thing: creating good paying jobs right here in Nevada,” said Reid. “This major step forward for the privately-sponsored DesertXpress Project will create more than 32,000 jobs in southern Nevada and boost our economy by providing another way for tourists to visit and enjoy this great state.”

BACKGROUND:

•   A UNLV Report states that the DesertXpress Project would produce an estimated 17,469 primary jobs and 16,432 secondary jobs in Clark County over three years by 2013.
•   The DesertXpress Project will connect Las Vegas to Victorville in Southern California, and later the California high-speed rail system.
•   Twenty-six percent of all visitors to Las Vegas come from Southern California.
•   The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Federal Railroad Administration is the lead agency for the DesertXpress EIS process, working with the Federal Highway Administration, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, the Surface Transportation Board and the applicant, DesertXpress Enterprise, LLC.  
•   The NEPA process considers the environmental impacts of a proposed action in consultation with appropriate Federal, State, and local authorities, and the public. Environmental reviews consider reasonable alternatives to the proposed action, including "no action," and identify potential mitigation measures. Relevant environmental impacts are identified and discussed.
•   A Record of Decision (ROD) is the final step in the NEPA process. It formally states the decision of the federal agency on the project and identifies the selected alternative, alternatives considered, and the required mitigation plans and monitoring commitments.

###