Woman stands by position against gas plant

DAYTON - A Dayton resident is defending the position she took against a Dayton gas plant that got her sued.

Barbara Peck, a Sutro Elementary School teacher, said she stands by a flyer distributed in Dayton calling for revocation of the Advanced Specialty Gases plant.

"We stand by what was included in our flyer," she said. "It was taken from public information and reviewed by Nevada Department of Environmental Protection officials. They said they did not have any problems with it."

Peck said a lawsuit may call more attention to the plant and will aid her cause.

"In some ways the lawsuit is helping our cause," she said. "It gives us another opportunity to get our position stated in the paper."

Peck and real estate agent Dee Scott, both must defend themselves in a lawsuit filed by eight employees of the gas manufacturer.

District Attorney Leon Aberasturi said the pending lawsuit has little merit.

Speaking before the Dayton regional advisory council last week, Aberasturi also noted that defendants in the lawsuit who are not employed by a governmental agency will be on their own in terms of finding legal help.

Landmark Homes Development and owner James Bawden will also be responsible for providing his own legal counsel.

Peck said she will be seeking legal help, but stood firmly by information distributed by her group.

Filed in Lyon County's Third Judicial District Court on Wednesday, the lawsuit also names Central Lyon County Fire District and Chief Bill Driscoll, Lyon County Commission Chairman Bob Milz, and Nevada Department of Environmental Protection Waste Management Supervisor Mark Zusy. All will have access to in-house legal representation.

Aberasturi told the advisory board, "from the county's perspective, this suit will be pretty easy to defend. You can sue anyone for anything, but it doesn't mean you are going to win. But I warned early on in this process, this is where things can head."

The lawsuit alleges the defendants have entered into agreements, either real or implied, to prevent them from working at the company for their own personal gain and allege the defendants are using their combined personal interests to cloud or change the facts to keep the plant from reopening.

A hearing to determine whether the county has sufficient evidence to revoke the company's special use permit is scheduled for Oct. 16.

The plant manufactures nitrogen trifluoride, but has not been in operation since a June 30, 2000, explosion in the plant's distillation processing room.