Report criticizes air pollution controls

Wednesday, May 31, 2000 | 11:38 a.m.

Subcommittee meeting

The Legislature's Subcommittee on Air Quality Programs will meet 1:30 p.m. Monday at the Sawyer State Building, 555 E. Washington Ave., to discuss the report.

A California consulting firm has criticized both the Clark County Health District and the Nevada Environmental Protection Division for the way the agencies track air pollution in the Las Vegas Valley, one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the nation.

Environ International Corp. of Novato, Calif., in a draft report sent to the Legislative Counsel Bureau, said a comprehensive review is needed to find out how much carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides and dust are in the air before Southern Nevada can begin to tackle its growing air pollution problems.

The draft was sent earlier this month to the Legislative Counsel Bureau. A final copy is due in September.

The consultants said they discovered records at both county and state levels with missing information or that included data that was "obviously in error" for large sources of potential air pollution such as Nevada Power Co. generating plants.

The consultant has been investigating the air quality program in Clark County and health district employee complaints raised during a Feb. 14 hearing of the Legislature's Subcommittee on Air Quality.

A major problem the health district faces in enforcing pollution limits on the 1,000 facilities that hold permits is a lack of staff, the report said. Reviewing those facilities rests with a single inspector who is responsible for 500 gasoline service stations, 200 dry cleaners and demolition projects for removing asbestos, the report said.

Subsequently, all of these sources cannot be checked thoroughly each year, the report said.

Clark County's Air Quality Division Director Michael Naylor wrote in a response dated May 19 that the division grew from 23 members in 1990 to 67 last year, and there are plans to grow to as many as 100 people within the next two years.

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