Top administration official backs up Guinn on freeway

Stephen Curran

Friday, Oct. 1, 2004 | 10:51 a.m.

The Bush administration's top transportation official took aim Thursday at a Sierra Club lawsuit that, if upheld, could derail the U.S. 95 widening project.

Mary E. Peters, the federal highway administrator, met with Gov. Kenny Guinn, Nevada Department of Transportation director Jeff Fontaine and members of the Regional Transportation Commission on Thursday morning to address the lawsuit, which alleges the Federal Highway Administration failed to adequately address the possibility that increased pollution that would come from the widened stretch of highway could increase the risk of cancer to nearby residents.

Peters' visit came days after Guinn blasted the environmental advocacy group for not cooperating with the government to devise a solution.

The governor said Thursday he was "willing to listen" to the club's concerns, but there was no indication an out-of-court settlement was on the table.

"We didn't come here to have a back-and-forth with the Sierra Club," Guinn said. "They don't even return our calls. We'd be happy if they returned our calls."

Eric Antebi, a San Francisco-based spokesman for the Sierra Club, said the group had submitted a proposal in March 2003 to the federal government that outlined a "laundry list" of possible compromises between the two groups.

He dismissed Guinn's claims that the group had cut off communications and said the state and federal governments had "never shown any good faith."

Aside from a half-page response sent to the Sierra Club in May 2003, the government did not address the proposals in the document, Antebi said. The proposals included a possible increase in the number of air monitors along the corridor, government efforts to increase carpooling for those who work and live along the highway and reducing the speed limit on the highway to 55 mph, according to a copy of the proposal provided to the Sun.

"They have basically stonewalled us," Antebi said. "The Federal Highway Administration, through their attorney, asked us to propose a settlement. We conveyed to their attorney we are very interested in settling."

In the response to Sierra Club attorney Joanne Spalding, assistant U.S. Attorney Rimantas Rukstele wrote that the club's proposal could have "far-reaching nationwide effects on highway projects" and that would leave "no room for prospect of settlement," according to a copy of the letter provided by the Sierra Club.

Peters, in a press conference after Thursday's meeting with Guinn at the Sawyer State Office Building, said a ruling in favor of the Sierra Club could undermine the highway administration's authority and create a series of legal challenges for similar projects nationwide.

The Las Vegas project, which would widen the freeway from six to 10 lanes, was stalled after a July ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that allowed the Sierra Club to delay the project until the court hears its appeal to shut down the expansion.

In the meantime the delays could also create a domino effect that may further stall the RTC's plans to improve public transportation along the busy highway, Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury said after the meeting.

Woodbury, who is also chairman of the RTC, said the commission had addressed the health concerns with "a broad cross-section" of the community and had involved the Sierra Club in its plans.

"It's disappointing that the Sierra Club has taken this action," Woodbury said. "We can't move forward until this is resolved."

Guinn said he hoped the legal action would not delay completion of the $370 million expansion, which is scheduled to open in late 2006. The action is now under review by a three-judge panel, which is not expected to hear the appeal until late this month.

A decision is not expected until December, which would set the project three months behind schedule, Guinn said.

Further delays could cost Nevada taxpayers an additional $7 million a year, according to the transportation department.

The state Transportation Board, which Guinn chairs, approved $4.4 million Tuesday to proceed with utility relocation and drainage work, which had been scheduled to be completed later. Waiting any longer to complete that work could push back the project another year, he said.

The court order failed to halt work on the new interchange at the Rainbow Curve, the construction of sound walls and overpasses and the leveling of land for the highway.