Guinn targets LV air quality

State officials including Gov. Kenny Guinn heard firsthand Friday about air quality problems in the Las Vegas Valley -- and how those problems could affect efforts to improve the roads and highways in the region.

Guinn, Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt, Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa and Nevada Department of Transportation Director Tom Stephens were among state officials who traveled to Las Vegas for the Transportation Board meeting, the first held in Southern Nevada in years. They focused primarily on the ongoing effort by regional agencies to clean up the air and get two air quality plans approved by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

Failure to win that approval by the end of this year could bring highway planning and improvement work to a halt, they were warned.

Guinn repeatedly asked representatives from the regional agencies what the state could do to assist in cleaning up the air and preparing those air quality plans.

"We need to hear from you. What is it that we can do?" Guinn asked.

Representatives from the Clark County Planning Department, Regional Transportation Commission and Clark County Health District welcomed the offer of support, but in the end, the answer came down to: Not much.

Stephens pledged to take a look at land owned by the state Transportation Department and to do whatever possible to keep fine dust from blowing off that property. It might not make a huge difference in the amount of dust blowing through the valley, he noted.

"Our part would be to try and set an example, so we're going to take a look at our land," he said.

The dust, smaller in diameter than the width of a human hair, has been targeted by the EPA as a potentially significant health problem. The valley exceeded EPA air standards for the dust 22 times last year, almost always when heavy wind picked it up from disturbed vacant land and construction sites.

Stephens said his department could put up fencing to keep trespassers off state land. The health district has identified trespassers disturbing vacant and open land as a significant source of the airborne dust.

Russell Roberts, county air quality planner, told the governor that he could help by getting federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency to respond in a more timely manner to plans that have been submitted.

"This is an issue that cries out for leadership on a much higher level than that of myself," Roberts said. "We have to fix these issues as soon as we can."

Guinn said he will be in touch with the EPA and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who Guinn said holds substantial influence over federal agencies.

Dust is the biggest headache for regional planners right now, Roberts and health district Air Pollution Control Director Michael Naylor told the state leaders.

Carbon monoxide pollution, which also requires a regional plan, did not exceed federal standards last year -- the first time since testing began in 1971 that that has happened. That indicates that the carbon monoxide problem is coming under control, Roberts and Naylor said.

Alternate, clean-burning fuels such as compressed natural gas, cleaner burning gasoline now required valleywide, tougher smog checks and cleaner engines in new cars have contributed to the carbon monoxide improvements, Naylor said.

But it hasn't been cheap. Naylor said bringing the region within federal standards has cost $83 million to $132 million, or about $100 for every man, woman and child in the valley.

The federal government has set a Dec. 31 deadline of this year to get an EPA-approved carbon monoxide action plan in place. The environmental agency called a draft of the plan "inadequate" earlier this month, but Roberts said he is optimistic that the EPA problems with the plan can be resolved.

The federal government has a Dec. 31, 2001, deadline for the dust plan, but the plan actually has to be approved this year so that the Regional Transportation Commission and Nevada Department of Transportation can draft new road and highway improvement plans. If both plans aren't in place by next January, federal highway funding could end and, under federal rules, the region couldn't undertake any new road work.

Jacob Snow, Regional Transportation Commission general manager, dramatically illustrated the problem with pink, purple and green colored balloons. Blowing up a pink balloon, Snow said it represented the allowable levels of pollution.

Without that "emissions budget" from the federal government, transportation work will stop, he warned.

With a loud whoosh of escaping air, Snow let the balloon go to fly around the board meeting like an air-powered rocket.

If that transportation scenario comes to pass, work on Interstate 15, U.S. 95 and the Las Vegas Beltway could soon end. It is a scenario that could stall development throughout the valley and could have a big impact on the fortunes of the region's political leaders, Guinn warned.

If the area loses federal highway funding, "There won't be any politicians left," Guinn warned.

Guinn and company also heard from a persistent critic of regional governments. Bob Hall, president of the ad-hoc Nevada Environmental Coalition, chastised the regional agencies for failing to get approved air quality plans in place, despite the fact that the federal Clean Air Act has required the plans since the 1970s.

"We've known for 20 years what was going to happen," Hall said. "We've had 10 years to comply with the 1990 requirements, and we haven't done that either. ... Nothing has happened, nothing has changed here."

Hall, who has launched a number of lawsuits trying to stop everything from monorail construction on the Strip to federal Bureau of Land Management land sales, said he could see "absolutely nothing" done to protect the air. He also said the regional agencies have refused to meet with him and listen to his concerns.

"You've gotten a lot of bad information today," Hall told the governor.

Guinn, who is the Nevada campaign chairman for Republican presidential candidate and Texas Gov. George W. Bush, said people shouldn't expect any last-minute reprieve if Bush wins the White House in next November's election.

Bush "won't allow this problem to go away," Guinn said.

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