Cleaner-burning gasoline still under consideration

Art Nadler

Thursday, March 25, 1999 | 11:23 a.m.

The Clark County Board of Health voted this morning to continue public comment on whether Southern Nevada will go to a cleaner burning gasoline for wintertime use.

The cleaner burning gasoline would be reformulated for Nevada to reduce sulfur and aromatic hydrocarbon levels by 9.6 percent or 38 tons per day of carbon monoxide.

Ethanol would still be added to reformulated gasoline during winter months. Methyl tertiary butyl ether, or MTBE, which has been linked to ground-water pollution in California, will not be used.

The Health District has been seeking ways to reduce air pollution in the Las Vegas Valley, because if federal air pollution guidelines are not met by 2001, the county could lose federal highway funding or authority to permit sewer hookups.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency considers Southern Nevada in serious violation of both carbon monoxide and dust standards.

The Health District is hoping to have the reformulated gasoline in place by Nov. 1.

The next public hearing on the gas reformulation will be April 22 at the Health District.

Opposition came at today's hearing from the Western States Petroleum Association, which said that petroleum makers would have to specifically manufacture the gas for Las Vegas, and that would make gas here more expensive.

The Health District estimates the cost would be 2 to 5 cents more per gallon. The petroleum makers would not comment on that estimate.

Gina Gray, managing coordinator of the association, "We are still questioning the need for this particular reformulation. There are other measures that could be taken."

Such measures would include stronger maintenance and inspection programs for vehicles and taking older vehicles off the road, she said.