Category Archives: Arizona Department of Environmental Quality

PUBLIC NOTICE – City of Willcox Willcox Wastewater Treatment Plant

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PROPOSED ARIZONA POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (AZPDES) RENEWAL PERMIT

Pursuant to the Clean Water Act and in accordance with Arizona Administrative Code (A.A.C.) R18-9-A907, the Director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) proposes to issue an Arizona Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (AZPDES) Permit to discharge pollutants to Waters of the United States to the following applicant, subject to certain effluent limitations and special conditions:

Public Notice No.15-23

AZPDES Permit No. AZ0025771

City of Willcox

101 South Railroad Avenue, Suite B

Willcox, Arizona 85643

The City of Willcox applied for a renewal AZPDES permit for the discharge of up to 0.6 million gallons per day (mgd) of treated domestic wastewater from the City of Willcox Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) to Lake Cochise in the San Pedro-Willcox Playa-Rio Yaqui River Basin in Township 14S, Range 25E, Section 7, in Cochise County, Arizona. The City of Willcox WWTP is a publicly owned treatment works that receives domestic wastewater from residential and commercial sources in Willcox. Sludge is accumulated at the bottom of the lagoons and will be removed when necessary by dredging and thickening, and disposed off site in accordance with state and federal regulations.

The permit and fact sheet may be viewed online at http://www.azdeq.gov/cgi-bin/vertical.pl by typing the permit number in the box left of “Search Event”. The public notice and related documentation also are available for public review, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at the ADEQ Records Center, 1110 W. Washington St., Phoenix, Arizona, 85007. Please call (602) 771-4380 or e-mail recordscenter@azdeq.gov 24 hours in advance to schedule an appointment to review the file.

Persons may submit comments or request a public hearing on the proposed action in writing, to Chiou Chen, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, Water Quality Division, 1110 W. Washington St., 5415B-3, Phoenix, Arizona 85007. All written comments received by ADEQ by the close of business on the date 30 days after publication of this notice will be considered in the final permit decision. A public hearing request must be in writing and must include the reasons for such request. If there is a significant degree of public interest, the Director will hold a hearing in accordance with A.A.C. R18-9-908(B).

ADEQ Awards Oak Creek Watershed Council $120,040 Grant to Reduce Pollution in Oak Creek

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ADEQ logo resizedPHOENIX – Arizona Department of Environmental Quality officials announced today that a $120,040 grant has been awarded to the Oak Creek Watershed Council to assist in controlling polluted runoff into Oak Creek from primarily the Settler’s Rest neighborhood in West Sedona.

The neighborhood is located near the top of Carrol Canyon, a popular spot near the Sedona Airport for hiking, people walking their dogs and horseback riding. The Carrol Canyon drainage typically moves runoff with elevated levels of nutrients, sediment and E. coli bacteria and shortly thereafter empties the stormwater into Oak Creek.

The grant is one of eight in Arizona this year administered by ADEQ’s Water Quality Improvement Grant program (WQIG) to address polluted runoff from many different sources. Oak Creek, from its headwaters to its confluence with Spring Creek in Oak Creek Canyon, is listed as impaired for E. coli.

The funding will be used to develop best management practices in the Settler’s Rest area like a series of retention basins and armored spillways and planting of native plants for soil retention and bioremediation. Outreach efforts will be made to encourage other residents and homeowner associations throughout Sedona to adopt similar practices. Erosion control work also will be performed and maintenance of dog waste stations to the extent that funding allows.

“This grant money will help restore water quality in one of the most beautiful and heavily visited tourist areas in the state,” ADEQ Director Henry Darwin said.

Scottsdale BASIS Fifth-Grade Student Selected Winner Of Nationwide No Burn Day Video Contest

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PHOENIX – Piper Sehman, a fifth-grade student at BASIS School in Scottsdale and Fountain Hills resident, has been selected winner of the nationwide No Burn Day Video Contest, sponsored by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and Maricopa County Air Quality Department.

Piper’s 30-second video, which used animated Lego characters, was selected by a panel of judges as best overall and most creative. It delivered the message of why Phoenix metropolitan residents should not burn wood in fireplaces, outdoor fire pits and chimineas on high pollution advisory days during the winter, especially during the holiday season, because of the negative effects of soot on public health.

“Piper’s innovative video succinctly delivered a message about the benefits of cleaner air during our holiday season in a way that really engages the viewer,” said ADEQ Air Quality Division Director Eric Massey.

Nick Sehman, Piper’s father, said she worked on the video for dozens of hours after learning the animation style from her brother, and “our whole family is very excited about this since this is the first time Piper has entered a contest.” Piper received a certificate of achievement from the central figure in the video contest part of this year’s campaign, the super hero No Burn Man, at a BASIS School assembly today.


Stephanie Zlateva of Mountain View, California, received an honorable mention from the judges for a video she created on her iPad using cut-away images to deliver a strong message about refraining from generating wood smoke on No Burn days.

Both of the videos will be used in this year’s “No Burn Day? Don’t Burn Wood!” winter outreach campaign. The campaign is intended to raise public awareness of the harmful health impacts of wood burning on wintertime No Burn Days in Maricopa County. The campaign asks county residents and businesses to refrain from burning wood on days when a stagnant air inversion traps smoke in the Valley, resulting in a high pollution advisory or health watch designation.

Night work begins on roundabout on US 93 at Wickenburg Ranch next week

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adot-logo-03aWork on the new roundabout on US 93 north of Wickenburg continues and crews will begin night work next week as part of the project at Wickenburg Ranch.

An intermittent single-lane restriction will be in effect overnight from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 22 and 23. Flaggers will direct traffic in alternating directions using the single lane that is open and with delays of up to 15 minutes. The speed limit will be reduced to 45 mph.

To maximize resources and complete the project quickly, crews are working seven days a week with day and night work for the next three months. Work hours during the day are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. with intermittent night work 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday to Thursday. A 12-foot width restriction and a shoulder closure will be in effect for the duration of the project.

The work zone will be clearly marked by temporary barricades and signage. ADOT advises drivers to allow additional time to reach their destinations and to proceed through the work zone with caution, comply with the reduced speed limit, and be alert for construction equipment and personnel.

First Free ADEQ Electronic Waste Recycling Event for Navajo Capitol of Window Rock

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ADEQ-2PHOENIX – Arizona Department of Environmental Quality officials announced today that the Navajo Nation community of Window Rock will host its first free electronic waste recycling event Saturday, Oct. 25 from 8 a.m. until noon Daylight Savings Time at the Navajo Nation Fairgrounds with entrance from Highway 264 next to Basha’s Supermarket.

ADEQ will be sponsoring the event along with the Navajo Nation Solid Waste Management Program, Navajo Nation EPA and E-Waste Harvesters of Phoenix.

Organizers expect tons of unwanted TV s, computers, monitors, printers, batteries, chargers, cell phones, VCRs, CD and DVD players, fax machines, small appliances, cables and cords to be collected at the event. There will be a limit of two televisions
accepted per vehicle.

Event volunteers will not be accepting large appliances or air conditioners for disposal.
For more information, contact the Navajo Nation EPA office at (928) 871-7816 or the Navajo Nation Solid Waste Management Program office at (928) 871-6309.

E-Waste Harvesters will erase all hard drives with state of the art technology and will recycle all materials in compliance with state and federal regulations. Attendees may receive a certificate of disposal from E-Waste Harvesters if they want the document for
their records.

“We are very excited about sponsoring our first E-waste event in the Navajo Nation capitol of Window Rock and welcome everyone living in Window Rock, Fort Defiance and the surrounding area to bring their recyclable items,” said ADEQ Director Henry Darwin. “This is a great opportunity for people to dispose of all the unwanted electronics they have collected over the years while at the same time ensuring that this potentially toxic stream of waste is disposed of responsibly and does not take up valuable landfill space.”

ADEQ has sponsored 98 events statewide since the e-waste program’s inception in August 2009 and collected more than 2.5 million pounds of electronics for recycling.