Strategic Plan to Address Growth in Southern Nevada

AIR QUALITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Environmental planning is the process of designing and implementing short and long-term programs for the purpose of improving, protecting and conserving our natural resources.

Air Quality
Concerning air quality in Southern Nevada, Clark County is classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a “serious” non-attainment area for both carbon monoxide (CO) and for particulate matter of 10 microns or less in diameter (PM10).

Over the past 20 years, CO readings have been improving primarily due to improvements that make automobile engines burn cleaner. However, because continued population growth is expected, in the near future, to begin offsetting the improvements, additional control strategies for CO will be needed.

Clark County is close to attaining the annual average PM10 standard, but violations of the 24-hour standard remain a continuing problem. Major sources of PM10 emissions include construction activities, disturbed vacant land, unpaved roads, and aggregate processing facilities. In addition, motor vehicles, residential wood burning and commercial and industrial sources contribute PM10 to the atmosphere.

In addition to CO and PM10, standards for ozone, PM 2.5 (particulate matter of 2.5 microns or less in diameter), and haze all may play a role in the future of Clark County. Although currently in compliance for ozone, continued population growth may result in ozone standards being exceeded. Newly promulgated national standards for PM 2.5 will be applied to Clark County after the year 2002. New standards to protect visibility at National Parks (for multi-state, regional haze) are expected to be issued by the federal government in 1999. The impact of these new standards on Southern Nevada is not yet known.

The consequences of failing to implement meaningful air quality planning and regulatory programs to protect and improve air quality within Clark County could result in increased scrutiny by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a variety of new control measures. The new requirements may include additional monitoring and potentially costly new mandates.

In addition to air quality planning and regulatory programs, Southern Nevada must also concern itself with other short and long-term environmental management issues including the protection of species and their habitat, energy conservation, consistency between environmental and land use planning on both federal and non-federal lands, recycling programs, and solid waste disposal.

Species Diversity
Through the Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan, environmental planning and conservation actions carried out by the multiple federal, state, and local signatory agencies will maintain the balance between continued regional economic prosperity and environmental integrity. The Plan will also bring additional conservation benefits in riparian areas, such as water quality improvement through wetlands restoration at the Clark County Wetlands Park (see also the Parks and Recreation, Flood Control, and Water Quality). The Plan’s public education and information programs about the uniqueness of our resource rich desert and riparian ecosystems, also portrays and promotes the high quality of living in Southern Nevada (see Economy/Economic Development section). The Plan’s Adaptive Management Program is also an important tool for land use planning as it gauges the conservation needs of sensitive natural resource areas which can be used in the development of master plans for commercial, residential and open spaces (see also the Land Use and Growth Strategies, Parks and Recreation, Transportation, and Water Quality/Wastewater sections).

Linking Environmental and Land Use Planning Through Innovative Decision-Making Systems
Designing innovative decision-making systems which concurrently consider environmental and land use planning issues across Southern Nevada regional entities will greatly increase the likelihood of affecting improvements in air and water quality, flood control and transportation as indicated in the chapters of this document addressing those areas. Specific decision-making mechanisms (see Land Use and Growth Strategies) which link the development of zoning codes and land use guides with environmentally sensitive natural resource areas will permit the establishment of open spaces such as trails and park corridors thereby enhancing the quality of life in residential areas while maintaining buffer zones necessary to protect and preserve sensitive environments.

Promotion of Energy Efficiency
By providing access to investment capital for cost-effective retrofitting programs for existing homes and encouraging region-wide participation in the DOE/EPA’s multiple energy efficiency programs, local entities will actively promote the efficient use of our local natural resources. The energy efficiency program will also promote Southern Nevada as an environment attractive for its high quality of living based upon low energy costs and preservation of natural resources (see Economy/Economic Development section of this document).

Environmental Planning Coordination with Federal Land Managers
Local entities will work with federal and state land management agencies to ensure that activities, policies, and programs remain consistent across the planning and implementation of local, state, and federal programs in Southern Nevada as particularly discussed in Land Use and Growth Strategies section.

Solid Waste Processing
By promoting locally-based business opportunities (also see Economy/Economic Development section), local entities will bolster the market for a wide variety of goods manufactured from recycled solid waste and industrial by-product materials (see also Economy/Economic Development section). Environmental planning across local entities will particularly permit the monitoring of existing solid waste landfills for their environmental impact (also see Air Quality, Land Use and Growth Strategies, and Water Quality, and Land Use and Growth Strategies).

Goal 1: Continue to improve air quality to protect human health, the environment and our economy.

OBJECTIVES	STRATEGIES
A. Achieve and maintain compliance with air quality standards set forth by the EPA and the Clean Air Act.	1. Recommend that Clark County proceed with air quality consensus building and public education efforts that support air quality planning and the implementation of effective control measures. 2. Improve coordination among agencies having an effect on air quality in Southern Nevada. a. Encourage local entities to make land use decisions with potential impacts on air quality that are consistent with the State Implementation Plan. b. Coordinate air quality planning with transportation and land use planning. 3. Recommend that Clark County continue its efforts to develop the CO Implementation Plan, including cost effective control measures, for submittal to the US EPA by mid-1999. 4. Recommend that State agencies implement an annual smog check program for diesel vehicles and improve the existing smog check program for gasoline engines. [CO, PM10, Ozone] 5. Recommend that the RTC’s Transportation Control Measures be evaluated for their impacts on air quality, the community, taxpayers and affected industries. 6. Recommend that the Clark County Health District continue to adopt cost-effective fuel and dust regulations and incentives that result in lower emissions. [CO, PM10, Ozone] 7. Implement the recommendations of the May 1998 Clean Air Task Force II report. [CO, PM10, Ozone] 8. Work with the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. EPA to develop and implement aircraft noise and emission standards. 9. Continue to participate in the Clean Cities initiative which seeks to further the use of alternative fuel vehicles by public and private sector fleets.
B. Establish local standards and measures for the reduction of urban haze.	1. Study and achieve a community-wide consensus for characterizing sources of visible urban haze within Clark County. 2. Develop a local visibility standard for adoption by the Clark County District Board of Health. 3. Develop a plan for identifying strategies that reduce visible urban haze. 4. Implement programs that achieve the local visibility standard.
C. Develop new programs to reduce pollen levels in Clark County.	1. Continue efforts to monitor and characterize pollen levels within Clark County. 2. Recommend that the Air Pollution Control Division of the Clark County Health District develop standards and/or best management practices to reduce pollen levels within Clark County.

Goal 2: Promote a balance between economic stability and environmental integrity in Clark County.

OBJECTIVES	STRATEGIES
A. Reconcile the need to maintain the diversity of species with both continued urban development and the multiple use of resources in Southern Nevada.	1. Support adoption and implementation of the Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan. 2. Foster collaborative planning across entities engaged in infrastructure and program development of the Las Vegas Wash Wetlands Park in order to achieve maximum conservation benefits for water, emergent wetland, and plant and animal species of concern.
B. Design and implement a policy and decision-making system that links land use planning and environmental planning.	1. Encourage regional and local entities within the Las Vegas Valley to link planning strategies including, but not limited to, air quality, water quality, land use, flood control, and transportation. 2. Collaborate across Las Vegas Valley jurisdictions to identify environmentally sensitive natural resource areas and develop land use guides requiring neighborhood or specific area plans prior to the issuance of permits for developments adjacent to those areas to ensure adequate buffer zones (e.g. open spaces, park corridors, trails, etc.). 3. Collectively employ the Adaptive Management Program of the Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan across signatory entities to coordinate land use planning in areas containing plant and animal species of concern. 4. Continue to encourage the location of hazardous and waste disposal sites outside of the Las Vegas Valley in suitable locations (e.g. Apex Industrial Park) through zoning codes adopted by local governments.
C. Promote energy efficiency for environmental protection and cost reduction.	1. Foster cost-effective programs (e.g. Revolving Funds for Investment Capital, etc.) for retrofitting existing homes for maximum energy efficiency and savings in residential energy costs and adopt building codes which promote efficient energy consumption and cost reduction for new homes and commercial development. 2. Further educate the public and private sectors on the conservation of energy and the reduction of costs associated with energy conservation through the curriculum of our schools, the use of demonstration projects, and the involvement of our utilities and governments in publicizing the benefits and cost savings of energy conservation. 3. Encourage greater participation in voluntary, market-based incentive programs (e.g. EPA/DOE-sponsored Energy Star Programs for energy efficiency in residential and commercial settings and facilitate the participation of the hotel/hospitality industry in the EPA’s WAVE program for efficiency in water usage.
D. Maintain consistency between federal land managers and local governmental entities.	1. Coordinate, monitor and review programs, activities, and policies of federal land agencies for consistency with programs, activities, and policies of So. Nevada entities.
E. Strengthen local market for recycled goods and materials, and conserve raw materials and our environment through long-term solid waste disposal site management.	1. Promote locally-based business opportunities for Las Vegas Valley enterprises utilizing solid waste recyclables as raw materials in the production of goods. 2. Promote market creation for recycling organic (e.g. sewage sludge) an non-organic (e.g. brine form hotel industry waste water treatment) solid wastes generated across the Las Vegas Valley. 3. Encourage public and private sector consumption of products locally manufactured from recycled materials. 4. Continue to monitor existing solid waste landfills for their long-term impact on the environment including water and air quality.