EDITORIAL: State officials ignoring law on emergency response plans

The horrific Oct. 1 Strip massacre has led to a re-evaluation of security practices and robust debate about preventive measures, both in Las Vegas and other tourist enclaves. But law enforcement, casino and emergency officials would be remiss if that discussion didn’t involve addressing the woeful lack of attention paid to a 16-year-old state law involving emergency plans for Nevada resorts.

Review-Journal investigative reporters Jeff German and Anita Hassan revealed this week that state officials have virtually ignored enforcement of a law passed in the wake of 9/11 mandating that Nevada casinos file and update emergency response procedures. It’s been years since officials with the Nevada Division of Emergency Management have reviewed such plans for myriad resorts, including Mandalay Bay, where a sniper killed 58 people and injured hundreds when he opened fire on a music festival from a 32nd-floor suite in October.

The situation is even more troubling given that the problem was identified almost a decade ago, yet little was resolved. Mr. German and Ms. Hassan report that a 2008 legislative audit found that state emergency management officials had been lax in keeping track of plans for a whole host of institutions, including casinos.

“The audit questioned whether the agency even reviewed the plans and suggested that the lack of oversight was hurting the state’s ability to respond to emergencies and natural disasters,” the RJ investigative team found.

Subsequently, the Division of Emergency Management sent letters to casinos seeking updated information and later told lawmakers that the issue had been addressed. In fact, Mr. German and Ms. Hassan discovered, about half of casinos ignored the order.

State emergency officials cite a lack of manpower. “My expertise on a casino plan is very minimal,” Bill Elliott, a state emergency management official, told the RJ. “If we had a requirement to judge the plans, we would need additional staff to do it.”

Fact is, however, the division has shown little interest in ensuring resorts comply with the law in the first place. Self-serving excuses involving staffing levels are nothing more than attempts at blame shifting absent evidence that Mr. Elliott and company had made the matter a priority.

There’s no evidence that the state’s failure to review an emergency response plan at Mandalay Bay exacerbated the Oct. 1 tragedy. But such blueprints can prove useful to virtually everyone involved in such crucial situations.

Complacency is the enemy of preparedness. At the very least the Division of Emergency Management should make it a top concern to ensure that casinos and other entities are providing the necessary information and that it is on file with the relevant fire and police agencies. And come the 2019 legislative session, Nevada lawmakers should re-evaluate the statute with the goal of ensuring compliance.