Thursday, April 30, 1998 | 10:32 a.m.
A Southern Nevada environmental group has filed a complaint with the attorney general's office asking for an investigation into the Clark County Health District's air pollution control program.
"We believe the Clark County Health District has assumed powers beyond those permitted by the Nevada Constitution and/or the Nevada Revised Statutes," Nevada Environmental Coalition Chairman Robert Hall wrote.
Hall demanded an audit of the air pollution control division's funds.
The Health District had a $1.1 million error in its emission credit fund for 1996, Hall alleged.
The fund was created by the Health District to help curb dust and other air pollutants in the Las Vegas Valley.
Air Pollution Control Director Michael Naylor said the emission funds were not tracked properly because the air pollution control division lacked staff. In July 1996 the federal Environmental Protection Agency criticized the low staff levels.
However an employee was hired to track the funds and had 90 percent of it in order by August, Naylor said.
Hall said the Health District still cannot balance its emission credit fund.
The complaint also alleges a local program to offset pollution by allowing industries to improve the air on a 2-to-1 basis is not quantifiable.
Further the complaint says the Health District does not have state authority to collect fines and levies for air pollution violations.
Hall sent another copy of the complaint to the Nevada Environmental Commission, which approves the state air quality plan.
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