Editorial: New law flawed

Wednesday, July 12, 2006 | 7:18 a.m.

Under a new - and badly written - state law, those who want to stop polluters from fouling the environment cannot petition the government to stop such activity unless they have a financial stake in the operation in question.

According to a recent story by the Las Vegas Sun, the law, which the Nevada Legislature passed last year, was the basis for a recent state Environmental Commission ruling that barred Great Basin Mine Watch activists from protesting a state permit to close a gold mine in Elko County.

The environmental watchdog group says that the state did not properly address the issue of storm runoff, which they claim sweeps toxic mine residue into the Humboldt River and can kill off the river's Lahontan cutthroat trout, a federally listed threatened species.

Nevada Attorney General George Chanos has characterized the statute as a "poorly crafted law," although he was forced to abide by it when he ruled against Great Basin Mine Watch in late June.

The law seems to be in direct conflict with the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, which guarantees Americans' right to "petition the government for redress of grievances." Given that the state law passed with little opposition - 40-1 in the Assembly and 17-4 in the Senate - it would seem that some Nevada lawmakers weren't certain of what they were reading.

Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, has submitted a bill draft request to change the law in next year's legislative session. Leslie, who voted in favor of the statute, told the Sun that she did not, at the time, realize its ramifications.

When it comes to protecting threatened or endangered wild species and their habitats, it is typically activists with no financial stake who will raise protests on behalf of these beings that lack human voices.

This law is poorly written and undermines a citizen's constitutional right to effectively participate in the administrative processes that affect qualities of life, some of which exist beyond the pocketbook. The Nevada Legislature must change it.