Governor To Call Special Session
 

Governor Jim Gibbons announced he will call a Special Session of the Nevada Legislature to address the ever-growing financial crisis facing the state as a result of severe revenue declines.

Current revenue projections show that, despite a growing population, Nevada will collect less revenue this year than it did last year. Year-over-year revenue declines haven’t happened in Nevada in at least 30 years.

“After conferring with Legislative leadership and members of the Executive Branch yesterday, I decided that a budget crisis of this magnitude should not be addressed by only a few selected leaders,” the Governor said. "I then had several conversations with Senator Bill Raggio, and we determined that we could only take some important actions by convening a Special Session."

Senator Raggio agreed with the need to call the Legislature into session.

"On reflection, I have come to believe that deferring the scheduled COLAs until the next Legislative Session is an important tool that will enable us to handle this budget crisis while avoiding painful layoffs, and only the Legislature can authorize that action," the Senator said.

“We are facing the worst fiscal crisis in the history of the state," Governor Gibbons said. "My office has been contacting lawmakers to solicit their input, but I believe the only responsible action is to convene the entire Legislature so that all can participate in crafting the solution and all options can be considered.”

“The simple fact is that we have tough decisions to make, and I will call upon the Legislature to work with me to make these decisions in a bi-partisan manner,” the Governor said.  “We need to work together for the benefit of our state. Nevadans deserve no less from their elected leaders.”

The Governor also announced that he will make a televised address to the people of Nevada next week to outline the fiscal problems facing the state, the challenges we have, and the tough choices that must be considered.

“Calling a Special Session is never a popular decision with the Legislature,” Gibbons said. “However, all the elected members of our Government share this obligation to the people, and we will fulfill this important responsibility together.”

“No solutions are off the table,” the Governor said. “We have a serious problem and we are going to find a viable solution that will work for the current and future benefit of our citizens.”

The Governor will be issuing the Executive Order next week calling for the Special Session, which will begin on June 23 and last no more than five days.

Governor Signs Order Creating Second Phase of Renewable Energy Transmission Access Advisory Committee
 

Governor Jim Gibbons today signed an executive order creating a second phase of his Renewable Energy Transmission Access Advisory Committee to further the committee’s first efforts of identifying transmission corridors necessary for renewable energy development in Nevada.

The committee is charged with determining power potential for renewable energy zones designated by the first phase, review environmental, land use and permitting constraints, identify potential construction corridors that could avoid these constraints and review potential revenue needs for construction, among other duties.

“I cannot emphasize enough the importance of developing Nevada’s transmission infrastructure,” the Governor said. “Today more than ever, I strongly believe that the key to developing our renewable energy resources is making sure that we have the necessary infrastructure in place to bring in companies that will be our partners in developing our clean energy resources while freeing Nevada of its dependence on imported energy. A few months ago, the first RETAAC committee made a recommendation to initiate Phase II to define the environmental and physical feasibility issues, costs and potential financing mechanisms associated with the recommended 14 transmission routes. This committee will implement this recommendation.”

Dr. Hatice Gecol, the governor’s Energy and Science Advisor and Director of the State Energy Office, said the Governor’s decision to move forward with Phase II is a critical step in freeing Nevada of its dependence on imported energy.

“Renewable energy development is one of the top priorities for Governor Gibbons and Nevada,” Gecol said. “This committee will identify and rank the transmission lines that are feasible to build and will identify the financing mechanism necessary for their development. I am looking forward to working with the committee.”

The committee members appointed by the Governor includes representation from the key interest groups that will work together to further the development. The 19 members are:

·   Daniel (Dan) Schochet, Vice President, formerly with ORMAT (chair)

·   George Caan, Executive Director, Colorado River Commission of Nevada

·    Alan Coyner, Administrator, Nevada Division of Minerals

·    Leo Drozdoff, Administrator of the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection

·    Mendy Elliott, Director, Nevada Department of Business and Industry

·    Thomas Fair, Executive Renewable Energy, Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific

·     Dr. Hatice Gecol, Director, Nevada State Office of Energy

·     Dr. Jason Geddes, Environmental Services Manager, City of Reno

·     Mark Harris, Resource Planning Engineer, Public Utilities Commission of Nevada

·     Joseph Johnson, Legislative Co-Chair, Toiyabe Chapter of Sierra Club

·      Scott Krantz, Director Energy Management, Southern Nevada Water Authority

·      Brian Krolicki, Lieutenant Governor and Chairman, Commission on Economic Development

·      Amy Lueders, associate state director, BLM Nevada

·      Kenneth Mayer, Director, Nevada Department of Wild Life

·       Edward Monnig, Forest Supervisor, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest

·      Christy Morris, Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Program Manager, Nevada Division of   Minerals

·       Dr. Yasuji Otsuka, Senior Economist, Public Utilities Commission of Nevada

·       Mario Villar, Executive Transmission, Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific Power

·       Rebecca Wagner, Commissioner, Public Utilities Commission of Nevada

Dan Schochet will chair Phase II of RETAAC after also serving as chairman of the first committee.

“On behalf of this committee, we are pleased and ready to tackle this task of studying and recommending the mechanisms to finance and construct the additional transmission lines required to bring the state’s vast renewable energy resources to the citizens of Nevada,” Schochet said.

RETAAC finalized its initial report on Dec. 31, 2007 and presented it to the Governor on Jan. 24, 2008. The final report can be found at http://gov.state.nv.us/Energy/FinalReport.htm.

Phase II is charged with finalizing its report and making recommendations to the Governor by July 31, 2009.

Vigilant Guard ’08 Exercise Will Test Preparedness
 

Governor Jim Gibbons today helped kickoff Nevada Vigilant Guard ’08, a full-scale disaster preparedness exercise involving more than 2,000 participants from civilian emergency response agencies and National Guard units from seven western states. The Vigilant Guard ‘08 exercise simulates a 7.1 magnitude earthquake striking Reno, triggering widespread damage and destruction.

The joint civilian and military exercise got underway at 6 a.m. PDT when the simulated earthquake “struck” southwest Reno near the intersection of State Route 431—Mt .Rose Highway—and U.S. Highway 395. The drill, which includes emergency response units coming to Nevada’s aid from six other western states, will be staged through June 19 with different scenarios played out at specific sites in Washoe, Carson City, Douglas, Storey, Lyon, and Churchill counties.

At a news conference held at the State Emergency Operations Center in Carson City this morning, Gov. Gibbons said, “Vigilant Guard ‘08 has been in the planning stages for two years, and the earthquake scenario has turned out to be very timely given the recent seismic activity around Reno. Nevada must be fully prepared to respond swiftly and effectively to any emergency or disaster that may occur, including flood, wildfire or biochemical incident. This exercise will help achieve that goal.”

Nevada is among the nation’s most seismically active states, ranking No. 3 in larger quakes after Alaska and California. According to University of Nevada, Reno seismologists, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Reno would cause death, extensive injury, damage, destruction, disruption of transportation and utilities, and an economic loss of $3 billion to $11 billion.

Vigilant Guard ’08 will test and train participants’ skills in victim recovery, triage, mobile field hospital setup, evacuation by ground and helicopter, search and rescue, mass sheltering for displaced victims and pets, emergency food distribution, hazardous chemical spill response, and gathering of information. Assessing “damage” to buildings, roads, dams, pipelines, and other infrastructure is also part of the exercise.

The Nevada Division of Emergency Management is directing the exercise in conjunction with the Nevada National Guard. Participants in the exercise include emergency response agencies from six Nevada counties and more than 1,750 National Guard soldiers and airmen from Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Washington state, and Utah.

Attendees at the news conference in Carson City this morning also heard from Frank Siracusa, Chief of the Nevada Division of Emergency Management; Maj. Gen. Cynthia Kirkland, commander of the Nevada National Guard; and State Geologist Jonathan Price, director of the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, which includes the Seismological Laboratory at the University of Nevada, Reno.

“This exercise will provide participants an unprecedented opportunity to work and train together to strengthen their skills in all aspects of emergency preparedness,” Siracusa said. “As we undertake the emergency response activities, evaluators will assess our performance and recommend areas for improvement when the exercise concludes.”

Major General Kirkland said, “Although Vigilant Guard is a National Guard exercise program nationwide, it is critical that we include as many of our local, state, and federal partners as possible. In the guard we train like we fight, and since the guard responds to emergencies to support local and state partners, it makes sense to ensure we include as many as possible in the plan. The time to build relationships and learn about each others' capabilities is not when you're responding to an actual emergency.”

Price added, “No one can predict with certainty when an earthquake will occur, but we can take action to prepare, and Vigilant Guard ’08 is exactly what we should be doing right now. Most of the damage from the earthquake this exercise envisions would occur in Nevada, particularly in Washoe County, Carson City, Douglas, Storey, and Lyon counties. Damage also would occur in El Dorado, Placer, and Nevada counties in California, and may affect other counties as well.”

Price said the probability of a 7.0 earthquake occurring near Reno or Carson City within the next 50 years is between 12 percent and 15 percent, which he called “significant, but low enough that we can take action to be better prepared.”

“Living with Earthquakes in Nevada,” a guide to preparing for, surviving and recovering from an earthquake, is available online at www.nbmg.unr.edu/dox/sp27.pdf.

The federal government requires states to conduct Vigilant Guard exercises and provides funding through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that is designated for training exercises. Nevada’s Vigilant Guard exercise, the 11th such exercise to be staged across the country, received a federal allocated of $1.5 million for National Guard and Nevada Division of Emergency Management mobilization.

To learn about specific exercises being staged in a particular county, go to http://dem.state.nv.us/coordinators.shtml to find contact information for the local Emergency Operations Center.

The public may notice an increased military presence during the exercise as National Guard and other troops participate in a variety of activities, including “victim” recovery and triage. However, the exercise will not stage any real-life impact on services or infrastructure during the week-long exercise. Information about Vigilant Guard ’08 activities can be found at http://nvstatejic.nv.gov.