North Las Vegas’ sewer plant administrator out of job
The head of the North Las Vegas' sewage treatment plant is out of a job.
Dave Commons was let go Thursday because of an efficiency reorganization, Utilities Director Randy DeVaul said, not because the EPA recently ordered the city to fix violations at the facility Commons oversaw. The agency determined the federal Clean Water Act violations had the potential to cause polluted water to spill into a wash that feeds into Lake Mead.
"We're always looking for ways to become more efficient and save some money at the same time," DeVaul said. The reorganization started a few months ago and Commons is the only one to lose a job in the process, he said.
DeVaul said four supervisors reported to Commons and now they'll just report to DeVaul in an effort to jettison needless bureaucracy.
North Las Vegas has been rapidly trying to cut costs in the face of a projected $78 million long-term deficit. At times, the future has been so bleak a state takeover seemed imminent. Although the city trumpeted slicing off $74 million of its then $152 million longterm deficit last year, the city's Finance Director Darren Adair has made it clear progress doesn't mean problem solved. All departments have been told to prepare for a 7 percent across the board cut in 2017.
City Manager Qiong Liu has said the city isn't considering cost-cutting measures that eliminate jobs, but jobs have still been lost. Three human resources employees were let go in May after the city decided to outsource their department to save money.
Commons made $116,687, not including benefits, in 2014, according to Transparent Nevada, a database of public salaries. DeVaul estimated Commons had been with the city for more than six years.
Commons' dismissal comes after controversy.
The EPA cited the city in July for failing to develop a pretreatment program when it built the sewage facility on Betty Lane in 2011. The agency found the city hadn't relegated enough resources to the program, including having qualified personnel.
The EPA also determined that the city failed to evaluate its permitting process or have the proper permits in place for industrial users.
DeVaul said the city is working with the EPA and on track to comply with the agency's order.
The order requires city staff to submit an industrial pretreatment program to the City Council for approval by March 1. The city must submit that program to the EPA by April 15.
The city's wastewater treatment plant has a storied history of annoying city residents and other government agencies. After it opened, the $300 million plant began pumping treated wastewater into a channel owned by Clark County.
The concrete channel had traditionally carried floodwater. The wastewater, to residents' horror, attracted bugs. The swarms of insects — and the accompanying stench — only increased as the valley's notorious heat climbed into triple digits.
To make matters worse, North Las Vegas didn't have Clark County's permission to funnel the wastewater into the channel. The matter ended up in court, where an agreement was reached to build a five-mile pipeline along the Sloan Channel to move wastewater to the wash.
Contact Bethany Barnes at bbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Find her on Twitter: @betsbarnes
