County’s dust plan approved by EPA

Friday, Jan. 10, 2003 | 9:12 a.m.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday gave its official stamp of approval to Clark County's plan to control fine dust pollution.

The step moved the county further away from sanctions that could have included the loss of millions of dollars in federal funding. The plan was required because the county hasn't met the federal clean air standards for dust, referred to as particulate matter or in bureaucratic shorthand as PM10.

"It's an important step forward in addressing the particulate matter problem in the Las Vegas Valley," said Ken Bigos, regional assistant director for the EPA's air division.

Parts of the plan, including increased monitoring and enforcement of dust-control requirements at construction sites, unpaved roads and vacant land, are already in place.

County Air Quality Management Director Christine Robinson credited the plan with bringing the county in line with the federal annual standard for fine dust.

Robinson said the plan includes the most stringent dust-control measures in the country and has become a model for other communities plagued with dust pollution.

Dust is often seen as a part of the desert landscape, but it has been tied to respiratory and other health problems.

Bigos said the approval of the plan will appear in the Federal Register in about two weeks. The public will have 30 days to comment after it is published in the Federal Register, he said.