County passes new dust rules

Friday, June 23, 2000 | 11:13 a.m.

The Clark County Health District on Thursday passed sweeping new regulations designed to reduce dust in the Las Vegas Valley.

The board voted without dissent to adopt the regulations, which for the first time put controls on fine dust from vacant land, unpaved roads and parking lots, utility easements and other sources.

The new rules also increase penalties for breaking existing rules for dust control during construction.

The rules will affect nearly everyone in Clark County.

Tens of thousands of acres of open property will require a "dust palliative," treatment with water, gravel or chemicals to control wind-blown dust.

Much of that land also will require fencing to keep trespassers off the property to keep the treated surfaces from breaking and freeing the dust.

The total cost for the public and private sector is only a guess.

Michael Naylor, director of the health district's Air Quality Division, said an acre of land would cost about $2,000 an acre for fencing, $500 to $1,500 an acre for dust-control remedies.

Russell Roberts, Clark County air quality planner, recently estimated that the final cost for the first three years of implementation could cost $300 million.

The dust is considered a human health hazard by the Environmental Protection Agency -- and by many who live in the valley. The fine dust, a fraction of the diameter of a human hair, is small enough to be inhaled.

Beyond the health issue, what really pushed drafting of the rules is the threat of federal sanctions. The Las Vegas Valley is not in compliance with federal health standards for airborne dust.

The federal government can slap sanctions on regional and state governments that include a halt to new road planning, a freeze on federal highway funds, and even a takeover of local zoning and development decisions. For developers, a worst-case scenario could include a "no-build" rule on nearly all local construction.

Faced with those sanctions, the Clark County Comprehensive Planning Department and other local agencies have scrambled to write a State Implementation Plan to control the dust.

Previous plans have been rejected by the EPA. EPA officials have said that any plan that did not include methods to control airborne dust from vacant land would not be accepted.

The regulations within the overall plan and enforcement of those regulations are the responsibility of the Clark County Health District, which is why its board passed the rules Thursday.

Although the new rules will hit hardest the construction and real estate industries, those private-sector interests have been involved from the start in drafting the new rules -- and support the rules. Industry representatives admit that they support the rules because the alternative of federal intervention could disrupt the pace of growth in the region.

Ed Lubbers, an attorney representing an industry coalition spoke in favor of the rules at Thursday's open hearing before the vote to adopt the rules.

Air Pollution Control Director Michael Naylor said the EPA is "fairly comfortable with the rules," although some changes may be necessary after they receive the full plan. The agency should receive the plan by the end of September.

The Southern Nevada Regional Planning Council, a board made up of the leadership from the county and the valley's cities, also gave a boost to the new rules. The council endorsed the rules at a meeting Thursday afternoon.

One agency may have a problem with the new rules. John Jamrog, assistant field manager for the BLM, said his agency may not have to abide by the local rules.

That could be a significant issue because the BLM owns more vacant land than any other single entity in the valley, Naylor said.

Naylor and health district board attorney Ian Ross strongly disagreed with Jamrog.

"The BLM will be subject to the regulations," Naylor said.

Environmentalists also generally support the new rules.

"Hopefully what will come out of the regulations passed today is a heightened awareness at all levels of our community of our dust problems," said Jeff van Ee, an environmental activist who has worked on the dust rules for several months. "Day after day I am amazed by the pall of dirty air hanging over our community."

He said it was unfortunate that the federal government's intervention spurred action on dust, which has been a threat for decades.

"It wasn't a real problem for us until the threat of federal sanctions came down," van Ee said. "The threat of federal sanctions has caused us to get moving. We should have been moving some time ago."

It is premature to call the move a victory for clean-air supporters, he said. The real victory will come when the health district staff has the resources and the will to enforce the rules, he said.

Jane Feldman, co-chairwoman of the local Sierra Club group's conservation committee, said she shared some of van Ee's concerns about enforcement of the new rules. But the rules are still positive, she said.

"Any step in the right direction is welcome," Feldman said.