Federal Facilities: Alternative Land Uses Could Save Water at Fallon Naval Air Station, Nevada
Published: 1999-12-10T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on alternative land uses that could save water at Fallon Naval Air Station, Nevada, focusing on: (1) the aviation safety and operational requirements for the runway protection zone at Fallon Naval Air Station (NAS); (2) the alternative land use strategies Fallon NAS identified in response to congressional direction and how it evaluated them; and (3) the land use strategies at five military facilities and two commercial airports that operate in similar environments.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: GAO noted that: (1) Fallon NAS must comply with the Department of Defense's (DOD) aviation safety and operational requirements for runway protection zones; (2) these requirements specify the maximum safe heights for buildings, towers, poles, and other possible obstructions to air navigation; (3) under these requirements, where possible, areas immediately beyond the ends of runways and along primary flight paths should be developed sparsely, if at all, to limit the risk from a possible aircraft accident; (4) at Fallon NAS, the agricultural and other low-density land uses are compatible with air operations; (5) the land surrounding the airfield is owned by the Navy and leased to farmers for agricultural use, which is permitted by DOD; (6) Fallon NAS gave detailed consideration to three land management strategies in developing its approach to managing land in the runway protection zone in the early 1990s; (7) each of these strategies involved irrigating the greenbelt; (8) as many as 11 different land management strategies were identified at the outset, but three of them were eliminated before an initial screening because Fallon NAS officials believed they would be environmentally or economically unacceptable or would cause unacceptable operational or safety impairments; (9) Fallon NAS officials eliminated five of the remaining eight strategies prior to a detailed analysis because they believed the strategies did not meet the Navy's evaluation criteria, which were based on provisions of the law; (10) the criteria Fallon NAS used in evaluating these land management strategies were based on the officials' assessment of whether the strategies would minimize dust, bird strikes, fire and other hazards, would enhance air safety, and, to a lesser extent, would reduce the amount of irrigation water used; (11) after a detailed analysis and the application of these criteria, Fallon NAS officials selected the strategy that involves conventional farming combined with water conservation practices because they believed it would have a very high probability of satisfying the safety goals while providing moderate water savings compared with the air station's historical usage; (12) at the seven other military facilities and commercial airports GAO visited, the land management strategies varied--two used strategies involving greenbelts, while five did not; and (13) the military facilities and commercial airports operating in desert-like conditions similar to Fallon NAS' have employed land management strategies that have resulted in water savings.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: The U.S. Navy, which operates the Fallon Naval Air Station (NAS) in  Nevada, pursues a strategy for managing land around its runways- the  runway protection zone- that requires extensive water usage in an area  where water is scarce. The Fallon area averages less than 5 inches of rain  per year. Since the 1950s, the Navy has maintained a “greenbelt” at the air  station that consists of acreage leased to local farmers who grow irrigated  crops on the land. In the Navy's view, having a “greenbelt” serves to protect  the operational capability of the facility by reducing the risk of fire,  lowering the chance of bird strikes or other damage to aircraft from foreign  objects, and controlling dust. Since 1990, the Navy, on average, has  annually used approximately 1.6 billion gallons of surface water supplied  by the local irrigation project to irrigate this land. According to Fallon NAS  officials, the average annual water consumption for the balance of Fallon  NAS has been 219 million gallons, which is drawn from wells. Other  military facilities and commercial airports located in similar environments  have opted for land use approaches that are less water intensive.
At your request, we gathered information on (1) the aviation safety and  operational requirements for the runway protection zone at Fallon NAS,  (2) the alternative land use strategies Fallon NAS identified in response to  congressional direction and how it evaluated them, and (3) the current  land use strategies at five military facilities and two commercial airports  that operate in similar environments.
subsections: section_title: Background
paragraphs: Fallon NAS was constructed in the 1940s on land that previously had been  farmed using water provided by the Bureau of Reclamation's Newlands  Reclamation Project. Prior to the project, which was authorized in 1903,  early settlers irrigated about 20,000 acres using simple diversions from the  Truckee and Carson rivers. The Newlands project nearly quadrupled the  amount of irrigated land to 78,000 acres, and the land surrounding the  airfield has been irrigated farmland since. In the 1950s, the Navy obtained,  as a buffer against encroachment, land surrounding the airfield that had  been irrigated farmland. It has since leased the bulk of that land to farmers.  Fallon NAS officials believe that continued use of the land for agriculture is  of value to the local community as well as to the air station. They point out  that the City of Fallon and Churchill County are concerned that any  reduction in Fallon NAS' irrigation could have a negative impact on the  recharging of the underlying aquifer, cause the manifestation of noxious  weeds in fields, and have an impact on the economics of neighboring  ranches and farms.
The Navy currently holds water rights under the Newlands project for  approximately 2,900 acres of the land at Fallon NAS. Of this acreage, the  Navy has active water rights to about 1,900 acres of land. Water rights are  attached to specific parcels of land, and Fallon NAS is entitled to 3.5 acre- feet of water per acre of water-righted land from the Newlands project. An  acre-foot is the volume of water sufficient to cover an acre of land to the  depth of 1 foot, which is about 325,900 gallons. The water rights for the  remaining 1,000 acres are inactive. The active water rights, which would  equal about 2.2 billion gallons, are used to obtain irrigation water to  support the Navy's 3,595-acre greenbelt surrounding Fallon NAS' airstrip  areas. The greenbelt has consumed an average of 1.6 billion gallons of this  irrigation water each year since 1990. This figure includes drought years in  which less water than the normal allocation was available and other years  in which water over and above the acreage's entitlement was made  available.
As can be seen in figure 1, about a third of the greenbelt acreage lies inside  the runway protection zone.
Under Public Law 101-618, enacted in 1990, officials at Fallon NAS were  required to develop an alternative land management plan that would  control dust, provide for fire abatement and safety, and control damage to  aircraft from foreign objects, while at the same time reducing the use of  irrigation water. The law also required Fallon NAS to select and implement  land management plans without impairing the safety of air operations.  Under this act, the Navy has discretion to determine what constitutes  operational air safety for Fallon NAS. In addition, the Secretary of the Navy  was required to consult with the Secretary of Agriculture and other  interested parties to fund and implement a demonstration project and test  site at Fallon NAS for the cultivation and development of grasses, shrubs,  and other native plant species. The project's goal was to help with the  restoration of previously irrigated farmland in the Newlands project area to  a stable and ecologically appropriate dryland condition.
In responding to the act's requirements, the Navy studied various land  management strategies, consulted with the Secretary of Agriculture and  interested parties, and selected a strategy for the greenbelt that combines  conventional farming with water conservation practices. Fallon NAS  officials have started to implement this strategy for the runway protection  zone. When fully implemented, the strategy would use approximately 1.4  billion gallons of water per year, somewhat of a decrease from the average  of 1.6 billion gallons used annually in recent years.
section_title: Aviation and Safety Requirements for the Runway Protection Zone at Fallon NAS
paragraphs: Fallon NAS is governed by aviation safety and operational standards  established by DOD for runway protection zones. DOD's standards for  military facilities and the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA)  standards for commercial airports require runway protection zones to  protect lives and property. Under these standards, airports can obtain  sufficient authority to restrict the use of the land for the runway protection  zones in three primary ways. First, an airport can purchase the approach  areas outright. Second, an airport can seek zoning requirements to control  the way land owned by others is used. Third, an airport can purchase  easements proscribing the incompatible use of land owned by others.
Outright ownership is preferable because it gives an airport maximum  control.
It is DOD's and FAA's policy to oppose incompatible land uses that are  proposed for property within the runway protection zones. Incompatible  land uses include residences and places of public assembly such as  churches, schools, hospitals, office buildings, and shopping centers.  Compatible land uses within the runway protection zones are generally  uses such as agriculture or golf courses that do not involve concentrations  of people or the construction of buildings or other structures. DOD and  FAA also allow other land uses that do not attract wildlife and that do not  interfere with navigational aids. Neither policy requires the establishment  of a greenbelt.
section_title: Fallon NAS Limited Its Detailed Consideration to Three Alternatives
paragraphs: In arriving at the land management strategy for Fallon NAS, the Navy  considered three alternatives in detail. Each involved continued irrigation  of land in Fallon NAS' greenbelt.
As many as 11 different land management strategies were identified by  Fallon NAS officials at the outset. Three strategies were eliminated from  consideration before the initial screening was conducted. These three  included covering the greenbelt with asphalt, cement, or rocks, or allowing  the irrigated fields to go fallow. These strategies were eliminated because  the officials believed that they would be environmentally or economically  unacceptable or would cause unacceptable operational or safety  impairments. They also felt that the strategies would be expensive to  maintain and would not provide a “soft” landing for any aircraft accident.
The remaining eight land management strategies were subjected to an  initial screening on the basis of how they would contribute to the Navy's  policy of zero accidental aircraft mishaps and at the same time fulfill the  requirements of P.L. 101-618. Four evaluation criteria were used to assess  the viability of the strategies: controlling dust and damage from foreign objects, including bird strikes; minimizing fire hazards; establishing a high probability of achieving safety objectives and  contributing to zero-mishap management; and reducing the direct surface deliveries of irrigation water.
Of the eight land management strategies, five were eliminated because  Fallon NAS officials believed those strategies did not meet the evaluation  criteria. These five strategies ranged from changing the plants allowed to  be grown in the area to using drainwater for irrigation.
The remaining three land use strategies were then subjected to detailed  consideration. Table 1 presents a comparison of the features of the three  strategies Fallon NAS officials considered in detail.
The first and second strategies considered in detail included water  conservation practices. The methods considered for saving water included  lining canals, leveling fields for proper drainage, establishing windbreaks,  and improving irrigation scheduling. The third strategy would not have  required any changes to the way Fallon NAS officials had been managing  the greenbelt land but would have reduced the use of water by irrigating  fewer acres. Fallon NAS officials believed that, over time, this strategy  would result in land degradation and that there was a low probability that it  would control safety hazards such as dust, fire, and damage to aircraft from  foreign objects and bird strikes.
In considering these strategies, Fallon NAS officials made no distinction  between the greenbelt areas that lie within the runway protection zone and  the areas that lie outside the zone. Approximately 1,145 acres of the  greenbelt lie within the runway protection zone, while 2,450 acres are  outside of it. We found no analysis that had determined whether the 2,450  acres of the greenbelt outside the runway protection zone required the  same level of prevention of foreign objects, bird strikes, or dust as the 1,145  acres within the zone. Fallon NAS officials confirmed that no such  distinction had been made in conducting their analyses.
Fallon NAS officials selected the first strategy: conventional farming with  water conservation practices. At the time, these officials believed that the  advantages of this strategy were the very high probability that it would  satisfy the safety goals for the greenbelt for the long term and provide  moderate water savings. They believed that the disadvantage would be the  substantial capital, operations, and maintenance costs of the water  conservation methods.
When fully implemented, the chosen strategy would encompass 1,914  water-righted acres of land, using approximately 1.4 billion gallons of water  per year. Navy officials believed that the plan would be costly to implement  because it included lining irrigation canals with concrete, leveling fields for  proper drainage, and other measures. According to Navy officials, the total  cost to implement all these measures could be as much as $3.5 million.
Since selecting the strategy of conventional farming with water  conservation practices in 1995, Fallon NAS officials have undertaken  efforts to implement it. As of May 1999, Fallon NAS had lined 16,419 linear  feet of irrigation ditches and leveled 347 acres of fields at a cost of about  $655,000. This cost was in addition to an estimated $817,000 spent on  studies and pilot projects. According to the officials, the implementation of  this strategy has stalled because of excessive costs and a shortage of funds.  In 1998, Fallon NAS advertised a contract to line another 45,000 linear feet  of ditches with concrete and level another 800 acres of fields. Fallon NAS  originally estimated the cost of the additional work to be $1.4 million, but  the lowest bid it received for the work was $1.9 million. According to  Fallon NAS officials, because of the excessive costs, a shortage of funds,  and concern that the work would save what they believed would be a  relatively small amount of water, this contract was not awarded. Hence,  Fallon NAS' chosen land management strategy is not currently being fully  implemented.
After the completion of our field work, Fallon NAS officials took action to  comply with the Fiscal Year 2000 National Defense Authorization Act,  which was enacted on October 5, 1999. The act included a provision  concerning water usage at Fallon NAS. To comply with their understanding  of the law, Fallon NAS officials informed us that they have decided to  reduce the irrigated land by about 700 acres. They will cease irrigation in  areas farthest from the airfield and the runway protection zone. Fallon NAS  officials expressed misgivings about this action but said that it would allow  them to comply with the new law. While they pointed out that the affected  land is not “technically within the runway protection zones,” they were  concerned that “improper management could impair operational safety and  create negative environmental impacts” and that Fallon NAS may incur  added costs “to properly manage the land for , fire,  weed and dust control.” They also expressed concern about possible “long- term degradation of the land.” On balance, however, they said that the  strategy meets the requirement of the new law, and they also pointed out  that the action will serve as “an excellent pilot study” of what happens  when irrigation ceases.
section_title: Land Management Strategies Varied at Military Facilities and Commercial Airports Visited
paragraphs: The land management strategies varied at the seven other military facilities  and commercial airports we visited. All were located in environments  similar to Fallon NAS'. Two military facilities used greenbelts, while the  other five did not. Officials at all seven facilities said their current land use  strategies provided a safe environment for their aircraft operations. The  strategies varied because of differences in land formation, history, access  to established irrigation facilities, and ownership. For example, at the two  Navy and one Marine Corps facilities we visited, the government owned  outright the areas surrounding the airfields as it does at Fallon NAS.  According to Navy officials, it has been the Navy's practice to purchase  land surrounding airfields to reduce possible encroachment and, where  possible, to lease this land for agricultural purposes- an activity compatible  with aircraft operations. One of the two Navy facilities and the one Marine  Corps facility we visited had greenbelts that were being farmed. Like Fallon  NAS, Lemoore NAS in Lemoore, California, and Yuma Marine Corps Air  Station in Yuma, Arizona, were constructed on land that was originally used  for irrigated farming. These three facilities maintain agricultural outlease  programs through which the Navy or Marine Corps leases the land adjacent  to the airfields to farmers. The farmers maintain the land and grow the  irrigated crops specified by the leases. The third naval location we visited,  China Lake Naval Weapons Station in Ridgecrest, California, does not have  a greenbelt and does not plan to have one. The station was constructed in a  desert area where crops are not grown and where the vast, sparsely  populated area is considered to be an ideal location for testing weapons  and conducting research and development.
Neither of the two Air Force bases nor the two commercial airports we  visited had an agricultural program like the Navy and Marine Corps  facilities', nor did they try to maintain green areas around their runways  and taxiways. None has returned substantial acreage of well-established  agricultural land to native conditions. Officials from these facilities told us  that their research had not uncovered any reports equating the safety of air  operations with vegetation at the end of runways. In addition, they said that  the cost to maintain and water green areas in the absence of available  irrigation facilities would be substantial. At present, their water usage for  the runway protection zones was minimal.
Officials at the facilities we visited expressed a strong desire to hold down  their water costs and believed that maintaining green areas around  runways was inconsistent with this objective. For example, Sky Harbor  International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona, used rock to landscape areas  surrounding the airport that were once irrigated. Additionally, Sky Harbor  officials have converted a significant amount of the airport's surrounding  area to desert landscaping and have adopted other water conservation  measures such as using a computerized irrigation system. According to the  officials, these efforts helped the airport save about 70 million gallons of  water during 1997. Similarly, at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nevada,  the terrain around the runways is mostly disturbed desert (regrown native  plants, thistle, or weeds). Because of the base's increased emphasis on  desert landscaping, water consumption has dropped by almost half, from  about 1.4 billion gallons of water in fiscal year 1996 to about 760 million  gallons of water in fiscal year 1999.
The facilities we visited without green areas around their runways used  several techniques to maintain their land for safety purposes. These  techniques include (1) mowing their fields to maintain them as open space,  (2) covering specific areas within and surrounding the airstrip with asphalt  or cement, and (3) allowing their fields to go fallow and applying a soil  cement sealant in strategic locations to control dust and damage to aircraft  from foreign objects. Fallon NAS officials said that, while they are aware of  these other land management strategies, to date they have not studied them  in detail. More detailed information on the land use practices of the five  military facilities and two commercial airports we visited are included in  appendix I.
section_title: Conclusions
paragraphs: The Navy chose a land management strategy for the runway protection  zone at Fallon NAS that is water intensive in an area where water is a  scarce resource. Other strategies used in similar environments use less  water while at the same time providing safety for air operations. Navy  officials at Fallon NAS are aware of many of these other land management  strategies but, to date, have not studied them in detail. Nor have they  considered adopting different strategies for specific areas within and  beyond the runway protection zone.
section_title: Recommendation
paragraphs: In light of the congressional concern over water consumption in this desert  area as expressed in statute and in light of the techniques used at other  desert air fields that are less water intensive, we recommend that the Navy  consider these techniques for Fallon NAS. Specifically, the Navy should  consider its earlier identified strategies and adopt specific actions that  would achieve safety and operational requirements while reducing water  use at the air station. It should consider adopting different strategies that  recognize the distinction between areas within the runway protection zone  and those beyond the zone. The results of the Navy's decision to stop  irrigating 700 acres of previously irrigated land should be closely monitored  to determine whether this strategy can be successfully applied to additional  land at Fallon NAS.
section_title: Agency Comments
paragraphs: We provided the Department of Defense with a draft of this report for its  review and comment. DOD's written comments are in appendix II. DOD  generally concurred with the draft report's recommendation. However,  DOD expressed concern that the report did not accurately provide detailed  information on the water usage conditions at Fallon NAS as compared with  other civilian and military installations and that the report did not fully  convey the specific actions taken by the Navy to comply with the  requirements of congressional direction. DOD also stated that the report  did not mention the value of the Navy's use of irrigation water to the local  community for agriculture and to enhancement of the safety of the Navy's  operations. We have provided additional information in the report to  address DOD's concerns. DOD also provided technical changes, which  were made as appropriate.
We performed our review from May through December 1999 in accordance  with generally accepted government auditing standards. Our scope and  methodology are discussed in appendix III.
We will provide copies of this report to the Honorable William Cohen,  Secretary of Defense; the Honorable Richard Danzig, Secretary of the Navy;  and to representatives of McCarran International Airport, Sky Harbor  International Airport, and the U.S. Department of Transportation. We will  also make copies available to others on request. If you or your staff have  any questions, please contact me at (202) 512-3841 or Brad Hathaway at  (202) 512-4329. Key contributors to this report are listed in appendix IV.
section_title: Land Use Practices at Five Military Facilities and Two Commercial Airports
subsections: section_title: Lemoore Naval Air Station, California
subsections: section_title: Land History/Ownership
paragraphs: The decision to construct Lemoore Naval Air Station (NAS) was made in  October 1954 when it became clear that Moffett Field NAS near San  Francisco could not be expanded because of urban encroachment.  Lemoore was chosen because of its central location, good weather for  flying, relatively inexpensive land, and nearby accommodations. At the  time of this decision, the land chosen for the air station and the  surrounding area was agricultural, as it remains today. Lemoore still has  room to expand beyond its two parallel runways, and Navy officials told us  that, if necessary, they could add another runway and an additional 265  F/A-18 aircraft to the 252 now stationed there.
section_title: Land Use
paragraphs: Reeves Field at Lemoore NAS has two parallel 13,500-foot runways that are  4,600 feet apart. (See fig. 2.) According to Navy officials, the runways are  offset, with hangars, fueling, fire stations, towers, and parking located  between them. The shoulders of the runways are paved. Outside of the  paved areas is a 10-foot-wide strip that is periodically sprayed with  herbicide to control vegetation. At the end of each of the two runways is a  1,000-foot paved overrun and an additional 1,000-by-3,000-foot mowed  grass overrun. The remainder of the areas around the airfield are described  as grassland that is kept mowed. Beyond the overruns and to either side of  the runways are cultivated fields. Approximately 11,000 acres of privately  owned farmland to the west of the station are under airspace easement.  The terrain throughout Lemoore NAS is best typified as flat or level.
Lemoore NAS has one of the largest agricultural outlease programs in the  Department of Defense (DOD). It currently leases nearly 14,000 acres of  agricultural land, which brings in between $1.5 million and $2.0 million  annually. These funds support conservation and natural resource activities  at Lemoore NAS and other Navy locations.
The water for Lemoore's domestic and agricultural uses is supplied by the  Westlands Water District via the California Aqueduct, which brings water  from Shasta Lake behind Shasta Dam in northern California. This water  supply is generally adequate in quantity and quality. Freshwater can also be  obtained from a well system on the base.
section_title: Yuma Marine Corps Air Station, Arizona
subsections: section_title: Land History/Ownership
paragraphs: In 1928, the federal government leased land for a base from Yuma County,  Arizona. When the United States entered World War II, an air base was  erected. At the end of the war, all flight activity at Yuma ceased, and the  area was partially reclaimed by the desert. During the period of inactivity,  the base was controlled successively by the War Assets Administration, the  U.S. Corps of Engineers, and the Department of the Interior's Bureau of  Land Reclamation, which used it as a headquarters for its irrigation  projects. In 1951, the Air Force reactivated the base. The facility was signed  over to the Navy in 1959 and was designated a Marine Corps Auxiliary Air  Station. In 1962, the designation was changed to Marine Corps Air Station.
section_title: Land Use
paragraphs: At the Yuma Marine Corps Air Station, the Corps owns the land, which  encompasses four runways, and has granted permission to the City of  Yuma to operate a civilian international airport in conjunction with the air  activities of the military. (See fig. 3.) Land use documents for 1994 (the  latest available) indicate that military air operations were nearly two-thirds  (about 95,000) of the total of 149,485 takeoffs and landings at the facility.
The areas just adjacent and between the runways are maintained using  different methods. The land just adjacent to the runway is mowed. In  addition, there is some use of herbicide to destroy weeds. The land  between the two original 1943 runways is covered with a very light coat of  asphalt. The land between the newer runways built in 1962 is maintained  mainly by mowing and using herbicides. The air station is located on the  southern side of Yuma and is surrounded mainly by agricultural fields, with  smaller sections of open space (disturbed and undisturbed desert) and  business areas containing commercial and industrial facilities. Marine  Corps and city officials have agreed to use the surrounding land for  agricultural production or light industry because of the compatibility of  those uses with the operations of the air station. The Marine Corps leases  about 90 acres of this land to local farmers. Leases for this land provide  between $18,000 and $60,000 in revenues annually. The city and the air  station receive their water from the neighboring Colorado River.
section_title: China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station, California
subsections: section_title: Land History/Ownership
paragraphs: In 1943, adequate facilities were needed for the testing and evaluation of  rockets being developed for the Navy by the California Institute of  Technology. The Navy also needed a new proving ground for all aviation  ordnance. The Naval Ordnance Test Station (NOTS) was established in  response to those needs in November 1943, forming the foundations of  China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station near Ridgecrest, California.
An auxiliary field was established near Inyokern, and the first facilities for  China Lake were established there while the main field was being  constructed. Weapons testing began at China Lake less than a month after  the station's formal establishment, and by mid-1945, NOTS' aviation assets  had been transferred to the new airfield, Armitage Field, located at China  Lake. The vast, sparsely populated desert around China Lake and Inyokern,  with near-perfect flying weather year-round and practically unlimited  visibility, was considered to be an ideal location for testing weapons and  for research and development purposes.
section_title: Land Use
paragraphs: The China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station operates its airstrips in desert  terrain. At the end of each of China Lake's three runways is a 1,000-foot  clear zone. (See fig. 4.) The runways are approximately 9,100 feet long. The  land between the runways is paved. The clear zones are not paved but are  plowed. Beyond the clear zones and along the sides of the runways, the  land is disturbed desert (regrown native desert plants) with undisturbed  native desert beyond.
The land surrounding China Lake's airfield has always been desert and is  not watered. Navy officials at China Lake are satisfied with the type of  terrain that exists at the end of the runways and in the zones under the  flight paths. One of the advantages of this land is that the natural desert  vegetation controls dust and does not attract birds. Navy officials believe  the desert terrain allows personnel to respond more quickly to a crash site  than if the area had vegetation.
All water used at China Lake comes from wells. The base's golf course is  watered with treated effluent.
section_title: Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada
subsections: section_title: Land History/Ownership
paragraphs: Nellis Air Force Base is located in the Great Basin area of southern Nevada,  about 10 miles northwest of Lake Mead and 8 miles northeast of Las Vegas.  In 1941, the property was signed over by the City of Las Vegas to the U.S.  Army Quartermaster Corps for the development of a gunnery school for the  Army Air Corps. Locating the school there had many advantages. Flying  weather was practically ideal year-round; more than 90 percent of the area  to the north was wasteland in the public domain and available at $1 per  acre; the strategic inland location was excellent; rocky hills approximately  6 miles from the base afforded a natural backdrop for cannon and machine  gun firing; and dry lake beds were available for emergency landings. In  1948, the base became Las Vegas Air Force Base and hosted a pilot training  wing. In 1950, the base was renamed Nellis Air Force Base.
section_title: Land Use
paragraphs: Nellis Air Force Base has two parallel runways and 2.2 million square yards  of airfield pavement. (See fig. 5.) The land surrounding the base consists  mostly of disturbed and undisturbed native desert. The disturbed areas  have regrown native plants, thistle, and weeds. The undisturbed areas  consist of sagebrush. Some areas contain eroded natural flood channels.  Within the areas at the end of the runways are roads and parts of a golf  course. Soil cement is applied at aircraft turning points as a method of  controlling dust and damage to aircraft from foreign objects. Foreign  objects and dust on the runways and taxiways are controlled using  flightline vacuum sweepers and having personnel walk through the area to  find and pick up any lose objects. Vegetation is being removed from  between the runways, and soil cement will be applied in these areas. The  base has no plans for clearing vegetation from the runway protection  zones.
Water is provided by the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the City of  North Las Vegas, and potable water wells on the base. Because of an  increased emphasis on using a desert environment rather than watered- plant landscaping, water consumption dropped by almost half from about  1.4 billion gallons of water in fiscal year 1996 to about 760 million gallons in  fiscal year 1999.
section_title: Luke Air Force Base, Arizona
subsections: section_title: Land History/Ownership
paragraphs: In 1940, the U.S. Army choose a site in Arizona for an Army Air Corps field  for advanced training in conventional aircraft. The City of Phoenix bought  1,440 acres of land and leased it to the government for $1 a year, and in  March 1941, construction began for what was then known as Litchfield  Park Air Base. The first class of 45 students arrived in June 1941 to begin  advanced flight training. During World War II, the field was the largest  fighter training base in the Air Corps. By 1946, the number of pilots being  trained had dropped significantly, and the base was deactivated. However,  after combat developed in Korea, the field was reactivated on February 1,  1951, as Luke Air Force Base.
section_title: Land Use
paragraphs: Luke Air Force Base has two runways. Both runways are 150 feet wide; the  primary runway is 10,000 feet long, while the secondary runway is 9, 910  feet long. (See fig. 6.) Luke owns 2,200 acres outright and has another 2,000  acres in easement. The base is within the city of Glendale and in the  jurisdiction of Maricopa County. According to the base's land use  documents, there is little land available for expansion or development. The  land west of Luke is primarily agricultural, as is some of the land to the east  and southeast. Residential, industrial, and commercial areas are located  north, south, and east of the base. Approximately 190 F-16 aircraft are  housed at Luke.
The runways are surrounded by the base's infrastructure on the east and  part of the south and by roads, fences, golf courses (both civilian and  military), and agricultural land where flowers and vegetables are grown on  the north, west, and the remainder of the south. The vegetation growing  immediately around the runways is mostly weeds. The area between the  runways is a combination of old asphalt and disturbed desert. The unused  portions of the airfield have gone untreated, and as a result, weeds are  growing in the cracks. Air Force officials at Luke have a program to mow  the vegetation so that it does not exceed 14 inches in height. Sections of the  airstrip have been sprayed with a soil sealant that helps control dust and  foreign objects.
The irrigation of the green areas maintained on the base for aesthetic  purposes, such as recreation areas and at base housing, uses treated  effluent from the base's wastewater treatment plant piped to automatic  sprinkler systems. A new golf course will be irrigated using a similar  system. Potable water for the base is supplied by seven groundwater wells  on the base.
section_title: McCarran International Airport, Nevada
subsections: section_title: Land History/Ownership
paragraphs: McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, is 51 years old. In  1948, Clark County purchased an existing airfield on Las Vegas Boulevard  and established the Clark County Public Airport. All commercial activities  were moved from an existing field to this new site, which was renamed  McCarran Field. Initially, the airport served four airlines- Bonanza,  Western, United, and TWA- and averaged 12 flights a day. Clark County,  through its Department of Aviation, now owns and operates five airports,  including McCarran.
section_title: Land Use
paragraphs: McCarran has four runways; the surrounding area is desert habitat. On  average, the runways are 14,500 feet long and about 150 feet wide. (See fig.  7.) McCarran has both disturbed and undisturbed desert areas. Most of the  airport's terrain has been disturbed by grading, rolling, and watering.  Airport officials have attempted to control weed growth by spraying  herbicides. The undisturbed areas are native sage and cactus terrain. The  area between the runways is paved. The runway protection zones are  graded dirt. The surrounding land encompasses a golf driving range, a golf  course, a cemetery, vacant land, and industrial property.
McCarran officials have studied a number of methods of controlling airport  dust, including soil cement. A study on dust control, conducted by a  contractor for McCarran, highlighted measures that McCarran should  consider, among them mulches, rock, and native vegetation for non-traffic  areas and salts, coatings, and pavement for traffic areas. Watering in both  the non-traffic and traffic areas was also suggested for consideration.  McCarran receives its water through the City of Las Vegas from Lake Mead.
section_title: Sky Harbor International Airport, Arizona
subsections: section_title: Land History/Ownership
paragraphs: In 1935, the City of Phoenix purchased what became Sky Harbor  International Airport. At that time, Sky Harbor was 258 acres of isolated  and rural land. Today, the airport consists of 2,232 acres of land. The City of  Phoenix operates Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport through its  Aviation Department.
section_title: Land Use
paragraphs: Sky Harbor International Airport has two runways, one 11,000 feet long and  the other 10,300 feet long. (See fig. 8.) Both runways are 150 feet wide. A  third runway being completed is to be about 7,800 feet long. Land use  surrounding the airport varies. On the west end of the airport is an  industrial park. Weeds are growing on some of the vacant lots near the  airport, and these weeds are mowed when needed. However, workers first  water and roll the area to keep down the dust. Workers also apply small  amounts of herbicide on these areas to kill weeds.
To conserve water, Sky Harbor used rocks to landscape areas surrounding  the airport that were once irrigated. Additionally, Sky Harbor officials have  converted a significant amount of the airport's surrounding area to desert  landscaping and have adopted other water conservation measures, such as  using a computerized irrigation system. According to airport officials, these  efforts helped save the airport about 70 million gallons of water during  1997.
Terminals and concrete can be found between the runways. To meet  Federal Aviation Administration and Environmental Protection Agency  regulations, Sky Harbor implemented a plan to control dust and to reduce  damage to aircraft from foreign objects. The substance that proved to be  the most environmentally safe and the most durable was a product called  “Soil Sement,” an acrylic polymer type of liquid sealer. This sealer was  applied using two separate methods- topical and soil stabilization. The  topical application process consisted of applying the sealer to the  undisturbed soil, while the stabilization application, which is more  concentrated, was plowed into the top 6 inches of the surface of the soil.
Sky Harbor receives its water from the City of Phoenix Water Service  Department.
section_title: Comments From the Department of Defense
section_title: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology
paragraphs: After receiving a letter from Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, we visited  Fallon NAS for background briefings and information on the air station's  actions in response to Public Law 101-618. After follow-up discussions with  Navy officials and with Senator Reid's office, we undertook this review to  provide information on (1) the aviation safety and operational  requirements for the runway protection zone at Fallon NAS, (2) the  alternative land use strategies Fallon NAS identified in response to  congressional direction and how it evaluated them, and (3) the current land  use strategies at five military facilities and two commercial airports that  operate in similar environments.
To determine aviation safety and operational requirements, we obtained  the regulations on runway protection zones issued by the Federal Aviation  Administration, the Department of Defense, and the military services. We  also obtained other regulations on airport safety and land requirements at  military and commercial airports. We obtained extracts of Fallon NAS' air  installation compatible use plans on runway protection zones. We  interviewed commercial airport, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps  officials.
To determine the land use strategies Fallon NAS identified and how it  evaluated them in selecting the greenbelt approach, we obtained Fallon  NAS' Natural Resources Management Plan, its Environmental Assessment  for Management of the Greenbelt Area, and a study by the U.S. Department  of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service, “Plant Materials  Trials on Revegetation of Abandoned Farmland.” We interviewed Fallon  NAS and Conservation Service officials on the results of these studies. We  analyzed the efforts of Fallon NAS officials in evaluating the land use  strategies.
To determine the current land use practices at military and commercial  airports that operate in desert-like environments and the impacts these  practices have on water usage, we visited seven airports- five military  (Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps) and two commercial facilities:
Lemoore Naval Air Station, California;
Yuma Marine Corps Air Station, Arizona;
China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station, California;
Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada;
Luke Air Force Base, Arizona;
McCarran International Airport, Nevada; and
Sky Harbor International Airport, Arizona.
We obtained land use documents at the seven locations and their  documents on water use and consumption. We also interviewed safety and  operations officials at the seven locations.
section_title: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments
subsections: section_title: GAO Contact
section_title: Acknowledgments
paragraphs: In addition, Rudolfo G. Payan, Uldis Adamsons, Richard W. Meeks, Doreen  S. Feldman, and Kathleen A. Gilhooly made key contributions to this  report.
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