Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2003 | 9:42 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- A Sparks assemblyman complained to his colleagues and to leaders of the Nevada Highway Patrol Monday that there is little control over the hazardous materials that are being transported across Nevada highways.
"We're letting everything come in," said Assemblyman Bernie Anderson, D-Sparks.
The comments came at a meeting of the Legislative Commission to approve regulations from the Highway Patrol that mirror federal rules on the shipment of hazardous waste. Most of the changes were minor, but Wideman said they needed to allow Nevada to continue to enforce the regulations.
The legislative commission approved the regulations but not before Anderson asked some pointed questions and noted his skepticism about whether the public is being adequately protected.
Anderson asked if adopting the regulations would make for stricter enforcement of the regulations.
Major Bob Wideman of the Nevada Highway Patrol said, "Failing to stay current makes us less efficient than in the present."
While these changes in the state regulations will comply with federal rules, Anderson said, "We don't have a great deal of confidence in the federal government looking out for the citizens of Nevada." He said he would like to seek more effective enforcement.
"Two years ago we had no clue about the material coming in and going out," he said.
Since 9-11, Anderson said, security has become a "major thing," but nobody knows if a "dirty bomb" or other hazardous materials are being hauled by trucks in and out of Nevada.
Wideman said the commercial enforcement division of the patrol conducts roadside inspections and sets up checkpoints to see what is being shipped and whether it complies with regulations.
Wideman and NHP Lt. Bill Bainter said that 705 licenses were issued for companies to ship hazardous waste through Nevada. They said there were 1,209 stops made of trucks carrying hazardous materials last year. And most of them "toe the line," the troopers said.
They agreed that not every truck is inspected, but they said the patrol does "a good job" in its inspections.
John Rhode of the patrol said the NHP even conducts inspections of high-level nuclear waste coming in and out of the Nevada Test Site to see if safety regulations are being followed.
Bainter said hazardous materials range from gasoline to paint. And the commercial enforcement staff looks for such things as whether the shipment contains what is authorized, if the load is secure, whether the driver has a logbook and if there are the proper placards on the trucks.
Bainter said overall there were 17,000 inspections of trucks last year that were not only carrying hazardous materials but also other items. And there were 50,000 violations noted, he said.
He said he did not know the number of violations involving trucks carrying hazardous materials, however.
Wideman said that the commercial enforcement unit has stepped up its enforcement. It has 43 officers in Las Vegas and Reno and it has increased its enforcement efforts by 50 percent, he said.
Wideman said the patrol was conscious of the budget restraints of the Legislature and did not set up stations at the borders to check each and every truck.
In addition to approving the hazardous materials regulations, the Legislative Commission also approved the regulation of the state Gaming Control Board for the live entertainment tax that goes into effect Jan. 1.
The Nevada Gaming Commission meets Thursday to approve the regulations that impose the 10 percent new tax, which replaces the casino entertainment tax that applied only to gaming casinos.
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