Notre Dame Sisters of Omaha, Nebraska

NDA Alumnae:

By Jane Feldman '69, a resident of Las Vegas NV and an active Sierra Club member:

Sierra Club Celebrates
GROUNDBREAKING AGREEMENT BENEFITS SCHOOL CHILDREN NEAR U.S. 95
Deal Targets Pollution Prevention at Fyfe and Adcock Elementary Schools and Western High School
Las Vegas -- On June 27th, the Sierra Club announced a landmark agreement with the Federal Highway Administration and the Nevada Department of Transportation to help prevent children who live and attend school near U.S. 95 from being exposed to increased levels of dangerous airborne toxics. While parts of the U.S. 95 expansion are already underway, this deal paves the way for the entire widening project to be completed by 2007.
"If we are going to expand a highway through a residential neighborhood, we have an obligation to ensure the health of the kids who live there," said Clark County Commissioner Lynette Boggs McDonald, who was instrumental in working with all the parties to find a solution. "I am grateful that all the parties were able to come together to bring closure to this lawsuit. More importantly, I am confident that not only will we be able to expand our freeway, but we will protect the health and safety of children who attend school in close proximity of the U.S. 95."
The settlement focuses on minimizing and monitoring the exposure of highway-related air toxics for kids who attend schools adjacent to an expanded U.S. 95. It is the first time that federal and state transportation agencies will be installing air filters and monitoring equipment designed to minimize the levels of highway-related air toxics in schools.
Our goal all along has been to solve the traffic problem without putting nearby residents, especially the kids, in harms way. The agreement allows us to move some of the classrooms and play areas out of the high-risk zone, and the air filters in all three schools will make indoor air much cleaner.
A significant body of scientific evidence links pollution from motor vehicles to a range of human health problems, including cancer, asthma, and premature death. In December 2004, the American Academy of Pediatrics concluded that "exposure to traffic-related pollution, such as exhaust emissions from cars and diesel exhaust from trucks and even school buses, increases a child's risk of respiratory complications as well as lifetime risk of cancer."
Our lawsuit, and the dedication and hard work of so many of us, will make sure that the thousands of school children in these three schools are healthier now and for their entire lives.
As part of the arrangement, the Sierra Club agreed to withdraw its challenge in the appeal court. In return, the Federal Highway Administration and the Nevada Department of Transportation have pledged the following:
- Install specialized air filtration systems at three schools next to U.S. 95: Fyfe and Adcock Elementary Schools, and Western High School.
- Relocate three portable buildings and the kindergarten playground at Fyfe Elementary School to a greater distance from the highway.
- Fund the Sierra Club to help the current redesign of Western High School to make sure that students' exposure to air pollution is minimized.
- Fund $1 million to retrofit Clark County School District buses to reduce diesel emissions.
- Outreach and education to reduce idling time of diesel vehicles, focused especially on school bus idling when picking up and dropping off children.
- Perform a major study of vehicle emissions at five highway locations across the country to determine the levels and behavior of air pollution from motor vehicles.
The Sierra Club and the Justice Department filed the agreement with the 9th Circuit Court today. The agreement will go into effect once accepted by the federal district court in Las Vegas.
The agreement would not have been possible without the leadership and input of key leadership, especially Senator Harry Reid, the Chairman of the Clark County Commission Rory Reid, Commissioner Lynette Boggs McDonald, School District Superintendent Carlos Garcia and Deputy Superintendent Walt Rulffes.
Many, many thanks to our A-#1 Sierra Club staff lawyer Joanne Spalding, our incredibly technical contract expert lawyer Bob Yuhnke, musically-inclined Sprawl Campaign staffer Brett 'Elvis' Hulsey, level-headed, calm and focussed media staffer Eric Antebi, indefatigable organizer Tara Smith, and Group volunteers who supported the effort through thick and thin. As Brett would say, "Thank you. Thank you very much!"
Special thanks:
To the Southern Nevada Group's Clean Air Project volunteers. Eight long years ago, a food server and a recent college grad attended the public scoping meetings on the highway project. They wrote formal comments for the Sierra Club; they asked questions about studying and building clean public transportation like light rail; they worried about more traffic creating more pollution through the middle of the city; they worried about the neighborhoods and the schools along the highway. Their piercing insight and high courage in braving big bureaucracy led the way for us to make a lifetime of better health for thousands of Las Vegas children.
More information can be found at:

http://nevada.sierraclub.org/

Notre Dame Alumnae at the June 4, 2005 Garage Sale.