Assembly to study regional board for air quality

Wednesday, May 9, 2001 | 10:45 a.m.

The creation of a regional air quality board that would change the way Clark County deals with pollution is scheduled to be discussed by the Assembly this week.

Supporters of Assembly Bill 536 claim that changing the county's current political structure is key to improving air quality in the Las Vegas Valley.

"We need to clean house in order to improve air quality, and creating one agency, instead of two, is the best way of doing this," Sen. Jon Porter, R-Henderson, head of the commission, said.

The Clark County Department of Comprehensive Planning currently employs eight people to handle air quality policy. Additionally, the Clark County Health District's Air Quality Division employs 85 people who deal with monitoring and enforcement.

Under the proposed change, which has been debated for the past 18 months by a legislative study commission, a new agency would merge the two bodies.

For the past decade the county has been out of compliance with the federal Clean Air Act on carbon monoxide and dust. The county will likely fall short of upcoming standards on ozone, or smog, as well, Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, who served on the interim commission, said.

The legislative study commission concluded that lack of communication and problems such as competition and finger-pointing between the agencies contributed to the problems.

"This is a very big deal," John Schlegel, director of the county's planning department, said. "If we don't achieve better standards, the consequences are beyond our comprehension, including the loss of millions of dollars of federal funding for highways."

Schlegel said his agency is behind the bill.

"Even if it doesn't pass, we're working on achieving similar measures," Schlegel said. "In fact, we've come a long way on solving some of the problems of several years ago and have achieved two years of lowered carbon monoxide levels, which should soon bring us back within federal levels."

Still, Schlegel said creating one agency would help with public outreach and education, which is "something we've not done too well on in the past."

But in a conversation before today's testimony began, Assemblywoman Marcia de Braga, D-Fallon, and chair of the Natural Resources, Agriculture & Mining committee, said she is not convinced. Her 12-member committee will look at this and other air quality bills throughout the week.

"What I'm going to be looking at is, What will the new board do that the old ones haven't? In general, I'm skeptical about micro-managing what Clark County should be doing from the state Legislature, so I want to know if mandating a new agency will really help solve what is a serious problem," she said.

One of the issues in a cash-strapped county is how to pay for the proposed new agency. Proposals include a $6 added fee on vehicle registration or a similar surcharge on emissions compliance tests. Senator Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, mentioned the possibility of issuing bonds.

"Still, if they're funding two agencies, why can't they fund one?" Jessica Hodge, Conservation Organizer of the Sierra Club, said. Hodge served on an advisory committee to the Legislature, and she supports the bill. She said the agency would be similar to Southern California's South Coast Air Management Agency, "which has been very successful."

"The main point is, with all the growth in this county, the Health District and Planning Department have too much on their plates, and a separate agency needs to deal with air quality. And besides, growth has to pay for growth," she said.

"Right now, we have a budget crisis and an energy crisis dominating the Legislature," Porter said."But this bill looks into the future, and air quality is one of the most important issues for our quality of life."