A layer of urban haze containing dust particles shrouds Wynn Las Vegas and the Venetian as seen Wednesday from Angel Park golf course in the Las Vegas Valley's west side. Clark County marked a milestone in curbing the dust problem, but commissioners said more work needed to be done. Photo by Jeff Scheid.

Clark County has reached a milestone in its effort to curb dust pollution by staying in compliance with the federal air quality standard three years in a row, commissioners said Wednesday.

"This is a major accomplishment, and we did not do it alone," commission Chairman Rory Reid said in announcing the feat.

"The construction industry stepped up to the plate and began to buckle down on its developments," he said. "Land owners secured their vacant land, and private citizens were vigilant in reporting violators. This has been a community effort."

Ten years ago, the county risked losing hundreds of millions in federal highway funding and faced other sanctions from the Environmental Protection Agency unless it could demonstrate compliance with the standard for coarse, airborne particulate matter, or PM-10, commonly referred to as dust.

In the ensuing years, the number of days that dust emissions from construction sites, vacant lots and other sources violated the standard dropped from 28 in a two-year span to only two days in the past three years.

The amount of dust pollution dropped from 720 tons in 2001 to half that last year. The last time the county violated the EPA standard for dust was May 11, 2004.

Reid and fellow commissioners credited the success of the dust-control program in part to public awareness through television ads that featured Dusty the Dusthole, a character with a penchant for stirring up dust by driving fast on unpaved roads and speeding across vacant lots.

Reid said fines levied against dust violators to the tune of $1.2 million last year for allowing emissions or not watering down construction sites no doubt added to the impact that the ad campaign had on curbing the dust problem. Money collected from dust fines is distributed to the Clark County School District.

"We needed to deal with the growth that we have. I think we used a carrot and stick very effectively, and the program obviously had some impact," Reid said, referring to the dust enforcement program.

Reid admitted that the dingy layer of urban haze that continues to taint the Las Vegas skyline on certain days is both a health concern and an aesthetic problem.

But without a program in place to deal with fugitive dust emissions, the air quality situation could have been out of hand.

"Ten years ago, the problem was much worse than it is today, and half as many people lived here," he said. "This isn't a time to rest on our laurels. We have a lot more to do. It's going to continue to be an issue that we deal with."

Commissioner Bruce Woodbury said: "We've made it past a very important hurdle. But what it really means to the people of this community is that we have clean air to breathe."

Because the Las Vegas Valley is "one of the driest spots in the country and we're surrounded by desert ... dust is inevitable."

"We are also one of the fastest-growing communities in the nation, and that means disturbed soil," Woodbury said. "Frankly, as one who was born and grew up here, we just took dust for granted. You live in the desert. The wind blows. It's dusty. So it wasn't regarded as a priority by most people until it was brought forward in terms of a health problem."

Dust particles, when inhaled, can lodge in airways and the lungs, causing respiratory problems especially for young children and the elderly and people who already suffer from asthma and related illnesses.

The data for demonstrating compliance with the Clean Air Act will be sent to the EPA for review.

Then, local air quality officials must submit an acceptable plan for maintaining the standard before applying to have the county re-designated as an area that meets the healthful guideline for dust.

The county is still in noncompliance for ground level ozone pollution, a task that lies ahead.