EPA gives county flunking grade

Thursday, Dec. 21, 2000 | 10:12 a.m.

The Environmental Protection Agency gave Clark County a flunking grade Wednesday for failing to file a dust-control plan.

The EPA issued a notice to the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection that triggers two fixed deadlines for implementing the plan to reduce dust from construction and vacant lands to protect public health.

Recent studies have linked dust particles to respiratory illnesses and premature death.

If the deadlines are not met in the next 18 months, sanctions can be imposed. In two years, if an approved dust plan is still not in place, the EPA could write its own action plan, said Ken Bigos, EPA associate director of the air division. Sanctions include loss of federal highway funds or a freeze on new construction.

The EPA acted because violations of the dust limit continue to occur.

"There are a lot of issues they made progress toward, but there is additional work that needs to be done," Bigos said. The EPA considers the Las Vegas Valley as one of the worst dust polluters in the country.

In particular, the EPA was concerned with Clark County's failure to curb dust on vacant lands. The Clark County Comprehensive Planning Division is responsible for air quality planning and the County Health District is in charge of enforcement.

The county's District Board of Health passed rules to curb dust on vacant lands last June.

However, the state, at Clark County's request, withdrew its plan for "particulate matter 10" -- the fine dust that is considered harmful to health -- for the Las Vegas Valley on Dec. 5. EPA officials had said they would reject that plan, Bigos said, and the deadlines for penalties would have started then.

By withdrawing the plan, the county bought weeks of time before the clock started ticking toward sanctions.

The Sierra Club said the ruling may not change its plans to sue to other measures to clean the county's air, Jessica Hodge, the club's urban issues coordinator, said.

"It obviously was done to avoid legal action by the Sierra Club," Hodge said. "We may still sue on this matter. We are still reviewing the matter."

The state, the county and the EPA are working together to deliver an acceptable plan by June, Jolene Johnson, deputy administrator of the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, said.

"The state is required to compose the plan, and we will forward that plan to the EPA," Johnson said.

The EPA is working with all parties to develop a new plan. In addition to the two county agencies, the Regional Transportation Commission is also contributing.

The county has provided the EPA with a timeline for when the new plan will be delivered.