Court asked to stop discharge in North Las Vegas wastewater dispute
Clark County wants a federal judge to stop North Las Vegas from "brazenly discharging sewer water" into a county-owned flood control channel.
The county made the request Thursday in a 35-page motion for a temporary restraining order. The action came exactly one week after North Las Vegas filed a federal lawsuit against the county.
"The city’s wrongful conduct is ongoing and cannot be left unchecked," according to the county’s motion. "As such, this court should issue a temporary restraining order as soon as possible."
U.S. District Judge Philip Pro has scheduled a hearing on the matter for Monday afternoon.
Attorney Patrick Byrne, who represents North Las Vegas, objected to the county’s use of the words "sewer water" in the motion.
"That water is clean, treated water," the attorney said.
After months of feuding between the two entities over the channel, the city last week began discharging from its new $300 million wastewater treatment plant into the Sloan Channel near Nellis Air Force Base.
North Las Vegas filed its lawsuit after county officials promised to seek a court order to stop its discharge of treated wastewater. The lawsuit seeks a ruling that the city has the authority to discharge into the channel despite county objections.
The federal court system has jurisdiction because the dispute involves property rights on federal land. The wastewater plant is outside North Las Vegas on land leased from the U.S. Air Force at Carey Avenue, south of Nellis Air Force Base.
From the Sloan Channel, wastewater flows several miles to the Las Vegas Wash, then downstream to Lake Mead.
"North Las Vegas should have never put a drop of water in the Sloan Channel," County Commissioner Tom Collins said Thursday. "They had no rights to do that."
Clark County contends that North Las Vegas cannot use the channel without county permission.
"To be clear, the sewer water is flowing through improvements designed for flood control, not sewer water," according to the county’s motion.
According to the document, that raises such important questions as:
■ During a rainstorm, will the city’s "sewer water" overload the capacity of the county’s storm water pipe?
■ Is the wastewater safe?
■ Can the county’s property rights "be trampled upon?"
In its motion, the county accused North Las Vegas of intending "to make a play" for its largest sewage treatment customer: the Air Force.
The motion lists other issues raised by the public, such as:
■ Will the wastewater be an "attractive nuisance" that encourages children to climb fences and play in it?
■ Will the water be deep enough to create a risk of drowning?
■ Will the water promote mosquitoes or other insects that harbor disease?
■ Will the water carry an odor?
Byrne said he was not aware of any complaints about an odor. He said he visited the wastewater treatment plant itself Wednesday and smelled nothing. He said the city will address other issues when it responds in writing to the county’s motion.
City officials have said the wastewater is safe to touch and treated to near-drinking-water standards before it enters the channel. They have said releasing it there is the same as sending it into the Las Vegas Wash, which is what the valley’s other wastewater treatment plants already do.
North Las Vegas officials decided to start the discharge after county commissioners voted again to delay action on the matter, this time until July.
"We just got to a point where we couldn’t wait any longer," Byrne said. "We had to start operating."
City representatives have said the plant has sensitive equipment that can deteriorate if left idle for too long.
"It is obviously an issue of critical importance to the city of North Las Vegas," Byrne said.
Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@review journal.com or 702-384-8710.
