NLV Council fighting for monument threatened by power lines

By Erin Dostal

Thursday, Sept. 2, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.

NV Energy has drawn a lot of heat in North Las Vegas after proposing a 260-foot swath of land rich with fossils be used for transmission lines to connect green energy plants across the state.

The North Las Vegas City Council unanimously approved a proposal Wednesday night that will allow Acting City Attorney Nicholas Vaskov and Acting City Manager Maryann Ustick to intervene before the Public Utilities Commission, which will either approve or reject NV Energy’s plan.

The item was proposed by Mayor Shari Buck at the Aug. 4 council meeting. A week earlier, Buck had traveled to Washington, D.C., where she urged congressional leaders not to include the utility corridor in any legislation.

The proposed area is so rich with fossils that it will likely become a national monument.

In August, NV Energy spokeswoman Jennifer Schuricht told the Sun that the transmission lines would be critical for delivering solar energy. The power lines are needed to connect green energy plants planned in the area from the Amargosa Valley to Carson City.

Jill DeStefano, founder of Protectors of Tule Springs, urged the mayor and council to stand firm against NV Energy’s proposal. DeStefano traveled with Buck during her trip to Washington, D.C.

“Too many people have worked too hard and too long as a team to get this monument for our city,” DeStefano said. “This city deserves this gateway for future tourism.”

Rita Ranson, representing the Sierra Club, said she was excited by the prospect of bringing people to Southern Nevada because “we have a monument unique to the world.”

“I was very, very dismayed when NV Energy came in and created a challenge to this national monument,” she said. “They did not make their concerns known until the 11th hour.”

Jane Feldman, a volunteer with the Sierra Club, said the area has environmental value, too.

“The truth of the matter is that the Upper Las Vegas Wash is still functioning as a natural hydrologic feature,” meaning it directs water into natural springs, she said. “It’s fragile soil.”

Feldman said she is worried that the power lines could disturb not only the fossils but indigenous desert plants.

But Randy Soltero, representing Sheet Metal Workers Local 88, said he is in favor of the power lines. The transmission lines are “very much needed,” he said.

He said he thought the lines could “coincide with the monument and not take anything with it. It’s like the old meeting the new.”

Buck said that after talks with NV Energy, the company is looking into other options for the power line corridor.

“They are very aggressively looking into those things,” she said. “They recognize the importance of this national monument, support it, as we do.”