LAS VEGAS— Thanks to recently passed legislation, Desert Research Institute will receive $10 million in federal funds for a variety of programs including development of urban flooding technology in Las Vegas and desert terrain studies that support U.S. military operations.

Funds earmarked in two joint congressional appropriations committee conference reports—one for energy-and-water development, the other for defense—allocate support for Desert Research Institute projects during the current fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2004, DRI President Stephen G. Wells announced today.

Some $3 million is tabbed to develop a Computer Automated Virtual Environment, or CAVE, for training military personnel to operate helicopters, tanks and other vehicles in desert environments. CAVE is a multi-person, room-sized, high-resolution, 3D video and auditory environment used to create immersive virtual experiences.

Another $3 million is designated to create an integrated, predictive tool for forecasting desert terrain conditions to support military tactical operations, testing and training in arid environments.

About $1 million was designated for DRI to start developing air, groundwater and community monitoring systems for Yucca Mountain to ensure public health and safety if the facility is used to store nuclear waste.

"DRI supports the position taken by Nevada's congressional delegation and state government regarding the storage of high-level radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain," Wells said. "Our state legislative mandate also requires us to contribute to national security and promote the general welfare of Nevada through environmental research. It will be to Nevada's advantage to have a state-based agency monitoring environmental impacts of the project. This is a program that will be essential to safeguarding the health and safety of Nevada's citizens."

As part of the Bureau of Reclamation's new Western Water Initiative, DRI will receive an additional $1 million to recommend water quality and environmental solutions that are mutually acceptable to industry and regulators.

Wells said Nevada's congressional leadership was instrumental in winning approval for the funds, which are critical to the continuation of essential programs. "As a leader in the Senate and a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, Sen. Harry Reid has an unparalleled record in securing hundreds of millions of dollars in funding that benefit not only the nation's environment and security but Nevada's economy, as well."

According to Wells, Nevada's entire congressional delegation rallied support for the DRI programs. "Sen. John Ensign, Representatives Shelley Berkley, Jim Gibbons and Jon Porter all played a major role in supporting these important projects and bringing funding to Nevada."

With $1 million for the urban floods program, DRI will work with the Army Corps of Engineers in developing and demonstrating technology to reduce damage to flood control channels and to make computer predictions about runoff in the Las Vegas Valley and other parts of the Southwest.

A nonprofit, statewide division of the University and Community College System of Nevada, DRI pursues a full-time program of basic and applied environmental research on a local, national, and international scale. Nearly 500 full- and part-time scientists, technicians, and support staff conduct some 150 research projects at DRI annually. More than 85 percent of DRI’s annual $37 million operating budget consists of research grants and contracts obtained by its scientists. The balance is received from the state of Nevada for administrative costs.