PHOENIX — Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) officials announced today that the City of St. Johns has joined the ADEQ Small Communities Environmental Compliance Assistance Program (SCECAP).

SCECAP is a statewide program designed to help small cities, towns and special districts comply with state and federal environmental regulations. Smaller cities, towns, and special water and wastewater districts often lack resources and staff to sustain compliance with state and federal environmental laws, so ADEQ began this voluntary program in 2007 to help these, mostly rural, communities affordably protect their public health and air, land and water resources.

With the addition of the City of St. Johns, SCECAP members include the following municipalities: Taylor, Holbrook, Show Low, Springerville, Eagar, Winslow, Snowflake, and Huachuca City. Sanitary Districts of Naco and Pinetop-Lakeside also participate in the program.

As part of the SCECAP, St. Johns agrees to perform a compliance evaluation to identify environmental laws that apply to city operations, promptly disclose and correct environmental violations if they occur and prepare a Small Community Environmental Protection Plan (SCEPP). A SCEPP establishes policies, management programs and standard operating procedures for addressing environmental concerns. In doing so, the city will be eligible for up to a 100 percent penalty reduction if it has future environmental violations.

“We are committed to helping small communities in the state achieve and maintain environmental compliance,” said ADEQ Director Misael Cabrera. “We congratulate St. Johns for being a leader in the effort to reduce its environmental footprint and hope other small municipalities and wastewater and water districts join the program.”

City of St Johns Interim Manager Paul Ramsey added, “The City of St. Johns is pleased to partner with ADEQ in this endeavor as we focus on maintaining compliance with environmental laws. Our participation in Arizona’s Small Communities Environmental Compliance Assistance Program will help us with continuous improvement and sustaining a high quality of life for our residents.”

In 2015, City of St. Johns staff moved into the new City Hall – the outcome of redeveloping a brownfields property by working with ADEQ Brownfields, State Lead UST and Voluntary Remediation Programs to leverage its expertise and obtain grant funds to cleanup and remove a leaking underground storage tank and asbestos.
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