Thursday, June 7, 2001 | 10:18 a.m.
The Clark County Commission, facing a choice Wednesday on whether to approve or reject a hydroelectric plant for the Blue Diamond hills, took a third tack: It kicked the issue to the federal government.
A consortium planning the plant brought the issue before the commission seeking approval for two water reservoirs, a water line and high-voltage transmission lines. But changing the tack from two weeks ago, when the issue first came before the county and commissioners held the issue, Blue Diamond Power Partners said the county's OK is irrelevant.
The plant would essentially work as a giant battery, buying power and water when electric use is low, pumping water to an upper reservoir, then running the water downhill and generating electricity when electric prices are high.
Clark County Assistant District Attorney Rob Warhola told commissioners that, in his legal judgment, county approval isn't necessary for the plant. The issue will be decided by the federal government, he said.
Commissioner Erin Kenny, described by members of the consortium building the project as an ally, raised the issue and called for the company to withdraw its land-use application with the county.
"They are going to be building this power plant with or without county approval," Kenny said. "The feds trump the county.
"If we were to deny this project, this would go to court and, in my opinion, we would lose," she said.
Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates disagreed. She argued that the plant should be denied.
"This project would not be a benefit to Clark County," she said.
Commissioner Myrna Williams, who expressed doubt about the project during a May 17 zoning meeting, said a county agency still has one chance to fight the 400-megawatt power plant -- Blue Diamond Power Partners will have to go before the Southern Nevada Water Authority for the millions of gallons needed to fire up the plant.
But Ed Garcia, the attorney representing the consortium, said the water authority OK is little more than a formality.
Wednesday's withdrawal brought howls from environmentalists, who had forced commissioners to consider the issue when they appealed an April Clark County Planning Commission approval for the plant.
Katherine Peck, a Las Vegas attorney representing the Sierra Club and other activists who oppose the plant, said she doesn't agree that the county couldn't stop the project.
She said the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which granted a license to the consortium five years ago, mandated the power plant also receive local approval before it could begin construction.
The company this month is going back to the FERC for an extension on the construction timeline, which expires this month. Garcia said the company won't face a serious challenge from the federal agency.
Jeff van Ee, an area environmental activist, disagreed. He said environmentalists will go to the FERC and then the courts to stop the project.
Peck, van Ee and others hope that ambiguous language in the bill that granted Blue Diamond Power Partners the land above Red Rock National Conservation Area will help their case. The 1994 federal law states that the company had until 1999 to get all government clearances, or the land becomes part of the conservation area.
Although most of the federal licenses are apparently in order, local approvals aren't. Opponents argue that the land, then, belongs to the federal government as part of Red Rock.
Former Nevada Rep. James Bilbray, who introduced the 1994 legislation, wrote the Clark County Commissioners last month. He argued that the law prohibits construction of the power plant and urged the commission to deny the application.
Again, Garcia said the issue is moot. He said the law could apply only to federal permits, and that the federal Bureau of Land Management has given his company the green light.
Phil Guerrero, BLM spokesman, said later in the day that his agency is still researching the law's application.
Peck, however, said the federal courts may be the ultimate decision maker.
Blue Diamond Power Partners' representatives said they aren't concerned about potential legal action.
"We break ground in January," Garcia said.
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