Carbon monoxide level meets rules

Monday, Jan. 8, 2001 | 10:25 a.m.

Officials with the region's air-quality agencies said today that they have achieved two straight years without exceeding federal carbon monoxide pollution standards -- an achievement that could provide a breather from threats of federal sanctions.

The announcement means that the region has gone two years without carbon monoxide -- a pollutant caused mostly by automobile and truck exhaust -- surpassing the federal health standard in the Las Vegas Valley. The gas can cause serious health problems, particularly for the elderly, the very young and for people with respiratory ailments.

Officials with the Clark County Comprehensive Planning Department and the Clark County Health District's Air Quality Division said the two-year mark also means that the valley can try to shed the "serious" designation for carbon monoxide pollution applied by the federal government years ago.

The valley agencies will have to send in a 10-year maintenance plan on top of a carbon monoxide plan already under review by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The federal agency has reviewed and accepted parts of the earlier plan.

Clete Kus, acting assistant planning manager for air quality, said the final EPA approval of the carbon monoxide control plan on the table is expected by late summer. Approval of the maintenance plan could take another year, he estimated.

He said the health district's monitoring shows two benefits. The most important is that the air is cleaner than in past years. The second is that federal sanctions, which could include the loss of federal highway funding or even a federal takeover of regional zoning decisions, isn't likely to happen.

"It means the economy can still continue to grow while we are in attainment of the standards," Kus said. "It really removes the threat of any federal sanctions."

Christine Robinson, Air Quality Division director, said the two-year mark represents a successful effort by local agencies to control carbon monoxide.

"Carbon monoxide levels in the valley have steadily declined over the years," she said. "The district's cleaner burning gasoline and oxygenated fuel regulations further reduced emissions from motor vehicles and contributed to our second exceedance-free year."

Some environmentalists have criticized the air quality monitoring by the health district. Robinson said her agency is reviewing the monitoring effort, and may make some small improvements, but the monitoring effort is federally approved and doing a good job.

"The EPA is pleased with our monitoring efforts," she said.

The regional agencies still have a bigger air pollution headache -- fine, airborne dust that the EPA also has tagged a serious health risk.

Comprehensive Planning on Thursday submitted a draft plan to control the dust problem with the EPA. Kus said the plan should come back and be opened for public comment in late March, and the Clark County Commission should formally pass the plan on to the EPA for final review in June.

Unlike the carbon monoxide problem, the valley continues to have a handful of days per year when dust levels approach or surpass federal health standards.

Kus said, however, that although the dust plan is still in the bowels of the federal and regional regulatory process, residents are breathing better because of rules already passed to control the dust.

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