B.C. wants out of air pollution district

Friday, March 23, 2001 | 10:33 a.m.

Boulder City moved one step closer to getting out from under Clark County's air pollution rules Thursday.

The Clark County District Board of Health approved a public hearing to consider a request from the city to leave the management area, a change that would reverse a decision Boulder City made voluntarily a decade ago.

Dr. Joe Hardy, a Boulder City councilman and health board member, said the move will not compromise local air quality standards but would give the municipal government flexibility in bargaining for pollution credits for a proposed electric plant outside the city.

That flexibility could help make Boulder City a center for alternative energy in the desert Southwest, Hardy said.

Boulder City meets most federal clean air standards. The urbanized area that includes the Las Vegas Valley does not, and government agencies are under a federal mandate to clean up the air in an "air quality management district."

Under the proposed changes, Boulder City would not be held to the same air quality requirements as the Las Vegas Valley.

John Sullard, Boulder City manager, told the health board that the rules would be different, but would still protect air quality for Boulder City residents.

"We still want to keep our air pristine," he said.

Air Quality Division staff said in background documents that the change would technically allow the Boulder City Council to increase levels of air pollution without sparking federal action.

But because the air quality issues are different, staff argued there is "no scientific or federal regulatory basis" for keeping the city in the Las Vegas Valley's air quality district. Christine Robinson, Air Quality Division director, argued for the status change at the health board meeting.

Eldorado Energy is negotiating to build a second natural-gas fired power plant in the El Dorado Valley, 10 miles southwest of Boulder City.

Under rules in effect for the Las Vegas Valley, the company would have to pave nearly 90 miles of dirt roads or plant 28,000 trees in Boulder City, options that aren't feasible for the small town, Hardy said.

Hardy said an alternative under consideration would be for the company to help fund conversion of hundreds of Boulder City vehicles from gasoline to compressed natural gas, which burns far more cleanly. He said the town could become a natural gas fueling center serving motorists from Arizona and the West.

The rules in place for the Las Vegas Valley won't allow that kind of deal, Hardy said.