Las Vegas Sun

April 25, 2024

Sierra Club rips county’s dust policy

The Sierra Club on Tuesday criticized Clark County's efforts to win forgiveness from the federal government for days when high winds bring fine dust into the Las Vegas urban area.

Clark County Air Quality and Environmental Management presented the "natural events action plan for high-wind events" to the Clark County Commission Tuesday. The commission accepted the plan, which includes a waiver for dust from high winds, with a 4-0 vote.

The commission authorized Christine Robinson, air quality director, to finalize a plan for review and possible acceptance by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Urban Clark County is under a federal mandate to clean up fine, airborne dust.

Sierra Club representative Jane Feldman, however, said the reason that the region has problems with the fine dust is because of human interaction with the desert.

archive