NASA in Tooele County? Lawmakers encourage new testing facility


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SALT LAKE CITY — Tooele County has the opportunity to become known for more than the Salt Flats or the Dugway Proving Ground.

NASA has its eye on a site about 10 miles south of Tooele for a new testing facility — and the site may have a competitive edge over others being considered in Texas, California and New York.

That's what Tooele County Commissioner Shawn Milne said Tuesday after a House committee supported a resolution that would encourage NASA to choose Tooele County for a new drone testing facility.

HCR21, sponsored by Rep. Doug Sagers, R-Tooele, passed the House Political Subdivisions Committee with a unanimous vote and now goes to the House floor.

Milne said a NASA facility would not only put Tooele County on the map for the high-tech sector, but it would also increase educational opportunities for schoolchildren and provide a few hundred jobs for the rural county's workforce.

"We need to do something to diversify our economy," he said. "This is a really awesome opportunity for our citizens and our county's economic growth."

Milne said the location under consideration — the site of the former Deseret Chemical Depot, currently known as the Tooele Army Depot South Area — already has restricted airspace and physical isolation, making it appealing for drone testing.

Sagers said "there has been a great deal of work" to put Tooele County on the map for NASA's considerations.

NASA officials did not return an emailed request for comment Tuesday.

State economists estimate a NASA testing facility would provide an economic benefit to the state of at least $250 million, according to the resolution.

Milne said no public hearings have been held on the possible NASA facility because it's early in the process, but he believes Tooele County residents would "welcome" it since they're accustomed to "high-tech testing environments" such as the Tooele Army Depot and Dugway Proving Ground.

With growing commercial interests of companies like Amazon to use drones in national airspace, Congress directed NASA to establish a test site program to integrate drones into national airspace.

NASA has until April 15 to select a site for its testing facility.

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Katie McKellar

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