Editorial: Don’t play games with air quality

Wednesday, June 27, 2001 | 9:17 a.m.

Gov. Kenny Guinn made a major decision this week when he transferred air pollution control in Southern Nevada, taking it out of the hands of the Clark County District Board of Health and instead placing it under the Clark County Commission's purview. This startling move means that Southern Nevada's city governments no longer will have a direct role in air quality control, a change strongly opposed by Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman. The stakes are high. If the County Commission botches this new responsibility it not only could lead to more air pollution, but it also could lead to severe sanctions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The Board of Health is a regional agency, with representatives from Southern Nevada's four cities and the county. While most board members are politicians, some of the cities' representatives are medical professionals, including a doctor and two nurses. It is next to impossible to make government bodies completely immune to the underbelly of politics, specifically its wheeling and dealing for favors. And over the years the Board of Health's Air Quality Division had been dogged by allegations that it was too easy on some developers. But recently, especially under the leadership of Christine Robinson, the director of the Air Quality Division, the agency's reputation has improved.

The public should greet cautiously the County Commission's powerful new responsibility, especially since the commission isn't beyond political hi-jinks. For that matter, developers -- who occasionally butt heads with regulators over air pollution controls -- already come before the County Commission to get requests approved for the building of new homes and businesses. These same companies, along with the casinos that also must get licensing approval from the county, donate huge sums to the campaigns of the commissioners. Homeowners long have complained that too often big campaign donors get their way on zoning decisions -- at the expense of their neighborhoods' quality of life. The environment, and the air we breathe, are no place for returning political favors to campaign contributors -- unless, of course, the County Commission wants to be viewed by the public as a tool for developers.

In some respects having a single government body responsible for air quality offers more accountability. What is dangerous, however, is that this also affords more opportunity for mischief. The commissioners must take seriously their newfound responsibility for providing clean air -- anything less is unacceptable.