Editorial: Tough part under way for county

Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2001 | 8:49 a.m.

Gov. Kenny Guinn, in a meeting Monday with elected officials from the county and cities in Southern Nevada, reaffirmed his commitment to have Clark County alone be responsible for air quality in the region. Now that the dust has settled -- pun intended -- the time has come for the cities to get foursquare behind the Clark County Commission's new role.

There are two basic reasons why the county needs to immediately put in place an aggressive plan to improve air quality in the valley. First, and most importantly, it is essential that the air we breathe is healthy for our residents, but especially for seniors and children who are most susceptible to respiratory ailments. Second, the region is in danger of facing sanctions from the federal government if it doesn't take reasonable steps to curb pollution in the valley. In the worst-case scenario, sanctions even could result in the federal government placing a limit on growth, an action that could jeopardize this valley's economy.

Some of the cities, especially Las Vegas, had cried foul that the municipal governments would be left out of the regulatory picture. (Of course that logic was strained since it failed to acknowledge that even city residents elect representatives to the Clark County Commission.) The cities also said they were concerned that decisions made by the county could adversely affect their land use plans. Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman obviously was disappointed that the city wouldn't have a seat at the table, but he emerged from the meeting with Guinn and said he received assurances that the cities' land use plans won't be unfairly impacted. Of course, the city of Las Vegas didn't help its case -- or its good neighbor image last week -- when it took everyone by surprise and declared it wanted to annex 80 square miles of federal land in the northwest to allow for gro wth. The city of Las Vegas' sneaky attempt to nearly double its size didn't earn itself many points with the public if the ! purpose of having city council members on a regional air quality commission was to implement coordinated regulation.

The Clark County Commission is going to have a tough task on its hands -- it may have to make decisions that not only could upset powerful interests, but could also leave much of the public unhappy depending on what kind of restrictions have to be sought. The municipal governments wanted a larger role to play, but in the end they may find themselves thankful that they won't be draped with politically unpopular decisions that the County Commission likely will have to confront.