Gibson warns builders of threat of EPA regulations

Jeffrey Libby

Thursday, Feb. 8, 2001 | 11:21 a.m.

Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson told contractors and builders at a luncheon Wednesday that strict federal environmental standards may have already killed one small town in Nevada.

Back from Carson City, where the Legislature is getting under way, Gibson reported that lawmakers may unincorporate the mining town of Gabbs, because "the imposition of mining regulations by the government" closed mines there and reduced the town's population to 250.

With the five municipalities of the Las Vegas Valley poised to create a new local agency to monitor air pollution more closely, Gibson warned that just "a quarter of the major emitters have permits. The rest don't. They're not federally permitted. That exposes (those businesses) to risk from the EPA."

The Environmental Protection Agency has been closely monitoring Southern Nevada's air quality for dust and carbon monoxide, pollutants commonly produced in the construction trade, with its heavy equipment turning dirt that is blown into the air.

The county recently completed two years of meeting federal standards for carbon monoxide, but it has yet to gain approval for a plan to fight fine dust. The EPA ultimately could cut off highway funding or take over regional zoning decisions if its rules are not met.

Gibson spoke at Palace Station as a guest of the Southern Nevada branch of the Associated Builders and Contractors.

"I can remember as a kid being scared by the FBI," Gibson said. "And when I became a wage earner, it was the IRS. Now, as an elected official, it's the EPA."

Gibson told contractors that public-private partnerships, not added government regulations, will help sustain and encourage economic growth.

"We're prepared to go forward hand-in-hand with you," Gibson said, of lobbying efforts on behalf of the construction industry before state lawmakers. "But we have to be careful not to misstep."

Steve Hill, a member of the builders' association and president of Silver State Materials, said that easing regulations on diesel emissions would be a priority for the association's two full-time lobbyists during the 2001 Legislature.

The association will also be lobbying to amend construction-defect regulations that have cost the industry "hundreds of millions of dollars" in Nevada, Hill said. Some of the most frivolous lawsuits filed against contractors have involved electrical outlets that were installed a quarter-inch off center, he said. The defects posed no safety or aesthetic issues, he said.

Gibson, an attorney, didn't address construction-defect litigation.

But Gibson, who earned another four-year term as mayor last week when local filings closed without yielding an opponent, did find time to counsel association members on improving their golf swing.

Repeating advice from former pro golfer Johnny Miller and taking a mock-stance at the podium, Gibson said, "Hit the ball thinking about something you really like doing. This is what works for me -- Cindy Crawford."

On ethics in politics, Gibson had another surprise drive for the crowd. He remembered the days when he worked as "a bagman" for his father, the late state Sen. James Gibson, and to one night in particular when he took more than $70,000 in political donations for his dad.

"Politics, it's an all-night thing," Gibson said. "There's money flying all around. You can't believe what it does to you. They talk about ethics, but you're out until 11 at night and your pockets are full of money. What do they expect?"