Legislators updated on clean-air plan

Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2000 | 10:13 a.m.

Pollution timeline

A proposed schedule for dealing with air pollution issues in Southern Nevada, including establishing a new agency to solve the problems:

Clark County Commission to approve carbon monoxide control plan and submit to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

County to release dust control plan for public review and comment.

Dust control supervisor to be hired.

Structure and staffing needs for new pollution agency to be identified.

County to submit dust control plan to EPA.

EPA to rule on carbon monoxide control plan.

New agency budget and funding needs to be determined.

Legislature to grant authority to new agency.

Local governments to complete interlocal agreements authorizing new agency.

New agency to begin operation.

A Regional Planning Coalition official laid out a possible timeline Monday for creation of a new, unified air pollution agency for Southern Nevada.

Phil Speight, Henderson city manager and chairman of the coalition's technical committee, told a state legislative subcommittee that the new agency could be up and running by July 1.

The proposed agency would be in charge of enforcing new rules governing dust emissions from property throughout the Las Vegas Valley and for planning the response to federal pollution control mandates.

Speight said a closer relationship with state agencies needs to be part of the plan for a new agency, but the local version of the plan gives policymaking authority to representatives from local governments.

The local version of the plan owes much to Clark County Commissioner Erin Kenny's proposal to unify the pollution-control enforcement responsibilities of the Clark County Health District and the air quality planning duties of the county government.

Three members of the subcommittee said the state government should have a larger role to play.

State Sen. Mark James, R-Las Vegas, said local agencies have had decades to deal with air quality, but the problems remain. He said the Las Vegas Valley has not been in compliance with federal air quality standards since the Clean Air Act was passed in 1971.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is requiring the region to submit acceptable air quality plans for carbon monoxide and fine dust or face sanctions, including the possible loss of federal highway funds.

"All these years of nonattainment ... We can't ignore how far this problem got along," James said.

Sen. Jon Porter, R-Henderson, the subcommittee chairman, said the state was forced to step in after the failure of local agencies to deal with the problem.

Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, a subcommittee member, said the state shouldn't have ceded authority for air quality issues to the local governments in the first place.

Allen Biaggi, administrator of the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, told the subcommittee that his department doesn't have the resources to play a large role in cleaning up the air in Southern Nevada. Hiring more people for the state program would require taking funding away from local programs, he said.

Another subcommittee member, Assemblyman Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, said he doesn't think getting the state involved will help air quality and would add bureaucratic complexity to the issue.