Nationally, coal power plants emit 68% of sulfur dioxide (soot) pollution, and a large share of the nation’s nitrogen oxide pollution (smog). These plants also spew large amounts of mercury, an incredibly dangerous neurotoxin. Half of all the lakes and streams in the U.S. are so contaminated by mercury that people are advised to not eat the fish.

Here in the Las Vegas area, we should be concerned about two large coal-fired plants just east of the city: the Reid Gardner plant, north of Lake Mead, and the Mohave Generating Station in Laughlin. Together, these plants emit over 30,000 tons of smog pollution and over 40,000 tons of soot pollution each year (according to 2002 EPA data). This pollution harms our health and costs us a lot of money. A recent study by the consulting group Abt Associates finds that pollution from power plants alone causes 3,987 lost work days, 680 asthma attacks and 28 premature deaths each year in Nevada. This hurts businesses, people, and communities.

But even more concerning to small businesses in Henderson and Las Vegas is what could happen if Clark County is found to be in “non-attainment” for ozone or smog pollution. Simply put, the federal government monitors the air quality in Henderson and elsewhere, and if the air does not meet federal standards, the county is found to be in “non-attainment.” If this occurs, new regulations are put in place and the county could lose federal highway funding, among other things. It is not hard to imagine that the thousands of tons of pollution these power plants are dumping in our air could contribute to poor air quality in Las Vegas and Henderson.

Currently, the Clean Air Act requires these plants to clean up their own mess in order to protect communities like Las Vegas and Henderson from the health effects and economic costs of air pollution. In fact, a recent study by the EPA found that for every dollar invested in complying with the Clean Air Act, we save $40 in health care costs. That’s a good return on any investment.

Unfortunately, some Members of Congress, along with the Bush administration, want to rewrite the Clean Air Act to eliminate the local protections. The changes would allow these plants to buy pollution “credits” from cleaner facilities hundreds of miles away and emit as much air pollution as they wanted or thought they could pay for. If these changes take place, communities and small businesses in Henderson and Las Vegas could be stuck paying the tab and dealing with increased regulation, lost work days, and health problems from this pollution.