Pete Domenici: “I wish to discuss a very important homeland security project being developed in New Mexico. Responding to our Nation's…”

“I wish to discuss a very important homeland security project being developed in New Mexico. Responding to our Nation's need for more sophisticated security, the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, NM Tech, and New Mexico State University, NMSU, are collaborating to create and operate the National Emergency Response Training, Research, and Development Center. This center would be located in Playas, NM. Playas is a small town in Hidalgo County, NM, that was built in the late 1970s by the Phelps Dodge Mining Company to provide housing for 1,000 workers employed at its nearby copper smelting operation. The town includes 259 modern homes and 25 apartment units, a community center, restaurant, bank, gas station, post office, fire station, medical center and airstrip. It also has recreational facilities including a bowling alley, fitness center, rodeo arena, basketball courts, tennis courts, and swimming pool. Smelting operations were suspended in 1999 and currently the town is almost completely uninhabited. NM Tech, a member of the Department of Homeland Security's, DHS, Office for Domestic Preparedness, ODP, National Domestic Preparedness Consortium, is currently in the process of purchasing Playas. If bought using ODP funds and properly developed by New Mexico Tech and then transferred to DHS, Playas could become a critical national facility for securing our Nation against future terrorist attacks.”