Good marks given on carbon monoxide

Stephen Curran

Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2005 | 9:15 a.m.

The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday commended Southern Nevada's plan to curb carbon monoxide in the air, moving the area one step closer to meeting a federal air quality standard governing the pollutant.

The federal agency had been reviewing the levels of carbon monoxide in Clark County and in September approved the county's plan to control the pollutant. The EPA had required the county to test the air continuously at eight monitoring stations throughout the area.

The next step is a public review of the EPA's data, a 30-day process required by law before the agency can deem the valley in compliance, Laura Gentile, a spokeswoman for the EPA, said.

"Based on what we saw the area meets the standards for carbon monoxide," she said, adding that she did not know when the process might be complete. "Now it's time to have the public take a look at our numbers. It really depends on the kind of comments we get."

John Koswan, the assistant planning manager for the Clark County Air Quality and Environmental Management Department, said the findings validate the county's plan to monitor the pollution levels.

He estimated it could take another 18 months for the county to officially meet the air quality standards, as the county is working to formulate a 20-year plan for continued compliance that takes future growth into account.

The department is working with the Regional Transportation Commission to devise a transportation plan that does not conflict with federal standards for highway projects. The RTC is currently conducting its own studies to create a long-term plan that does not violate the federal air standards necessary to receive federal funding, he said.

An RTC subcommittee is expected to meet today with the air quality department to discuss this plan.

"We've been working together very closely," Koswan said. "We have to work very closely."

In December, the agency said Clark County had stayed below a national standard regulating the maximum amount PM 2.5, a fine dust up to 2.5 microns in diameter linked to asthma and other respiratory ills.

The EPA in September placed the county on a federal list of "nonattainment areas" for ozone -- a primary component in smog -- and required county engineers to develop an interim plan with the federal government.

If approved, the plan could be fully implemented by early 2007, county engineers have said.