Pollution board gives Rhodes Ranch ultimatum to pave dusty roads

Environmental officials could halt work on Rhodes Ranch if the developer doesn't start paving roads that are raising dust in the southwest valley.

The Clark County Air Pollution Control Hearing Board late Thursday gave Rhodes Ranch two weeks to stop raising dust at its construction site.

If the developer cannot meet deadlines, it will have to close its gravel operation, effectively shutting down construction of the massive development.

"The dust has to stop now," board member Jack Greco said.

The developer of Rhodes Ranch is Jim Rhodes of Rhodes Design and Development Corp. He plans to build 15,000 homes on 1,600 acres stretching from Russell Road almost to State Route 160.

The hearing board has stiffened dust penalties because Southern Nevada ranks as a "serious" nonattainment area, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Its first duty is to protect the public health.

The company had permission from the Air Pollution Control Hearing Board to process 250,000 tons of gravel at its site, provided Durango Drive was paved between Hacienda Avenue and Windmill Lane by July 31 at Rhodes' expense.

Residents near Durango Drive and Windmill complained that the gravel operation and its trucks had failed to control particulates by the board's deadline, which was imposed July 2.

"We who live with this are not surprised," Tina Small said. "This is the way Rhodes operates."

The developer asked the hearing board for a time extension in a July 16 letter, prompting the hearing.

Project engineer Jeff Thomson said the company had watered dirt roads. He noted that Rhodes did not realize the difficulty of paving a temporary road because of complex soil and rock in the area.

But neighbor Harold Long scoffed at the explanation. "You can't tell me they didn't know it was hard rock out there," he said. "They've been blasting for eight months."

Rhodes has been allowed by the Clark County Health District's Air Pollution Control Division to use explosives in carving more than 500 acres for homes and a golf course. Last year, the developer received a $3,000 fine from the board for a dust violation.

After the hearing, Michael Naylor, director of the Air Pollution Control Division, said his staff had investigated three dust complaints in the past month against Rhodes. Those complaints will come before a hearing officer.

The developer's first deadline comes Aug. 22. Rhodes has to apply for a permit to pave two miles of Windmill from Durango to Rainbow Boulevard and begin applying magnesium chloride to suppress the dust by then. Paving this stretch at an estimated cost of $35,000 should begin Aug. 29, if the necessary permits are approved.

Thomson objected to temporarily paving Windmill, but the hearing board unanimously voted for that condition.

In addition, Rhodes has to pave Durango from Windmill to Warm Springs Road by Sept. 30 and from Warm Springs to Hacienda Avenue by Oct. 31, for a total of five miles.

Since Rhodes agreed to the board's conditions, the company cannot appeal the board's ruling in U.S. District Court, Health District staff counsel Ian Ross said.

If Rhodes cannot meet the conditions set by the board, it must contact hearing board Chairman Ann Zorn and request a hearing. It is left to her discretion to call a special meeting.

The hearing board will review Rhodes' project at its next regular meeting on Oct. 9.

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