DIRECTORS
REPORT
2004

A Message from the Director…
Fiscal year 2004 was a year of continued progress for the Arizona Department of
Environmental Quality. The department implemented several successful initiatives and
enhanced its focus on the central functions of its mission. The department also underwent
a very successful performance audit by the Auditor General’s office that recommended
continuation of the department.
Among the department’s top priorities in FY 2004, the Children’s Environmental Health
Project has been met with an enthusiastic response from parents, educators, school officials,
children’s health experts, community leaders and others throughout the state. In April 2004,
the department sponsored its second forum on children’s environmental health, this time in
Tucson focusing on the environmental health factors facing children in southern Arizona.
The department continued its outreach and assistance efforts, including particularly outreach
and assistance to small water systems across the state that must meet the new federal arsenic
standard, which takes effect in January 2006.
To better utilize resources and increase deterrence, the department continued to focus its
enforcement activities on offenders with a history of noncompliance or who commit major
violations of the law. In so doing, the department also has improved its enforcement and
compliance efforts.
Throughout FY 2004, the department also continued to move forward with its effort to
improve the administration of the State Assurance Fund (SAF), which assists eligible
underground storage tank owners, operators and others in meeting the potentially high
costs of leaking UST investigations and cleanups. As we eliminated a backlog of more than
1,100 unpaid SAF applications that had accumulated under previous administrations, the
department conducted an important stakeholder process on the SAF and worked closely
with the legislature as it enacted substantial reforms of the program.
More detailed information about our department’s activities in FY 2004 may be found in
the appendices to this report and on the department’s Web site at www.azdeq.gov.
Like other state agencies, ADEQ continued to grapple with challenges presented by the
state’s revenue shortfall during FY 2004. After suffering a 39 percent reduction in its
General Fund appropriation in previous years, the department’s appropriation was not
increased for FY 2004. Because of funding shortfalls, the department operated during FY
2004 with a large number of its authorized positions vacant.
Despite such challenges, fiscal year 2004 was an exciting and productive year for ADEQ,
and this report shows the great contribution the department’s employees make to public
health and the environment. I am honored to be associated with men and women so
dedicated to professionalism and public service.
Stephen A. Owens
Director

ADEQ at a Glance...
The Arizona Legislature established ADEQ
as the state’s environmental regulatory
agency under the Environmental Quality
Act of 1986. ADEQ’s mission is to protect
and enhance public health and the
environment in Arizona. The department
achieves this mission by administering our
state’s environmental laws and delegated
federal programs to prevent pollution of
our air, water and land, and to clean up
such pollution when it occurs.
During FY 2004, ADEQ had an average of 705 employees working in our Phoenix facilities
and our Flagstaff and Tucson regional offices. The department’s organizational structure is
composed of four programmatic divisions that fulfill our environmental protection mission
in the areas of air quality, water quality, waste programs and tank programs. Those
divisions are supported by the director’s office and an administrative services division.
Our agency’s core functions are vital to public health and safety, and by carrying them out,
ADEQ employees ensure that Arizona’s environmental quality is protected and that
citizens enjoy an excellent quality of life. The core functions align with the agency mission,
strategic plan and performance objectives, which are summarized below.

Pollution Control
Planning – ADEQ’s planning specialists develop management practices and control
strategies in areas where health-based environmental standards are threatened or violated.
Arizona’s air quality management areas and watershed planning efforts are examples of
this activity.

Permitting – ADEQ issues permits, approvals and certifications to ensure that facilities are
constructed and operated in accordance with the law and that any discharges to the air,
water and soil are within healthful standards established by law.

Pollution Prevention – As an alternative to regulatory enforcement, ADEQ offers
guidance, assistance and financial incentives to encourage businesses to minimize waste
and resulting pollution.

ADEQ Annual Report 2004 – Page 2

Environmental Clean Up
Remediation – ADEQ investigates and oversees the removal and cleanup of contaminated
soil and groundwater to protect public health and the environment.

Emergency Response – ADEQ provides technical support and assistance to emergency
response agencies to help them minimize the impacts to public health and the
environment in the areas of air quality, water quality and hazardous waste.

Compliance Management
Compliance Assistance – ADEQ works with businesses and other regulated entities to help
them understand and comply with environmental regulatory requirements and promote
positive environmental practices.

Inspections – ADEQ inspects facilities on a regular basis and in response to citizen
complaints to ensure compliance with environmental laws.
Enforcement – ADEQ ensures compliance with environmental laws by pursuing informal
enforcement through notices of opportunity to correct or notices of violation and formal
enforcement through administrative orders and judicial enforcement actions in
conjunction with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.

Monitoring and Assessment
Monitoring – ADEQ’s monitoring personnel collect air, water and soil samples for
laboratory analyses to determine the presence or absence of contaminants.

Assessment – ADEQ’s assessment staff interpret the data that result from field research to
draw conclusions about environmental indicators and trends and form the basis for future
planning and policy decisions.

Public Outreach
Education and Outreach – ADEQ offers seminars,
workshops, presentations and publishes
information via newsletters and the Internet to
inform the public about department programs and
activities. ADEQ also supports numerous advisory
and stakeholder groups and conducts public
hearings and meetings in support of our regulatory
and public policy functions.

ADEQ Annual Report 2004 – Page 3

Financial Assistance – ADEQ offers financial assistance for leaking underground storage
tank cleanup costs and provides grants to local governments for air quality and water
quality programs. Other ADEQ programs also make funding available to eligible applicants
for recycling, water quality and pollution prevention projects and activities.

Public Policy
Policy Development – ADEQ works with state and national organizations and
stakeholders to shape and influence environmental policy at the state and federal levels.
Policies are developed to explain how we interpret statutes and rules to ensure consistent,
equitable decisions and to inform the public about how we do business.

Rule Development – ADEQ writes rules, based on science and public policy, to
implement the broad statutory language contained in legislation.

Administrative Services
In addition to these programmatic responsibilities, ADEQ has an administrative
services division that provides centralized support for many of the agency’s business
activities including accounting, budgeting, strategic planning, contracts and
procurement, human resources, general and laboratory services and maintaining our
information technology systems.

Legislative Highlights
In the 2004 legislative session, ADEQ closely monitored 24 bills which became law and
helped advance ADEQ’s public health and environmental protection mission.
Among others, the legislature extended programs that assist businesses and municipalities
in complying with safe drinking water requirements (H.B. 2421, S.B. 1006 and S.B. 1062),
keep landfills safe (S.B. 1085) and modify existing Water Quality Assurance Revolving
Fund (WQARF) regulations to remediate contaminated property (H.B. 2484). In addition
the legislature funded the WQARF program with a $10 million Corporate Income Tax
transfer.
The legislature also passed laws that dealt with land redevelopment and innovation
(H .B. 2088 and H.B. 2279) and helping agriculture and small truckers to follow
environmental guidelines while sustaining good business practices (H.B. 2419 and S.B.
1246). H.B. 2651 broadened access to ADEQ’s Municipal Tank Closure program to
provide funding to unincorporated areas to remove old underground storage tanks from
the ground. S.B. 1306 phases out funding for leaking underground storage tank
investigations and cleanups over several years while instituting other reforms to control
costs and protect the environment.

ADEQ Annual Report 2004 – Page 4

ADEQ continued to protect the air quality and visibility in and around natural areas such
as the Grand Canyon by amending and clarifying Arizona’s regional haze reduction laws
(S.B. 1064).
Finally, the second regular session of the 46th Legislature continued to present budgetary
challenges for ADEQ. After contributing roughly $17 million from its fund balances
toward balancing the state’s FY 2004 budget, the department contributed approximately
$15 million toward balancing the FY 2005 budget. Moreover, while ADEQ obtained $10
million for WQARF for FY 2005, this amount is still $5 million below the committed level
of funding, furthering the cumulative adverse effect of annual funding shortfalls in the
WQARF program.

ADEQ Annual Report 2004 – Page 5

FY 2004 Accomplishments...
Pollution Control – Planning
Continued Progress toward Cleaner Air
In FY 2004, ADEQ continued to lead
Arizona’s progress to reduce air pollution
and improve visibility throughout the state.
In September 2003, EPA issued a finding
that the Phoenix metropolitan nonattainment area met a Dec. 31, 2000,
deadline to comply with federal standards
for carbon monoxide, one of several
common air pollutants regulated by the federal government. The action moved the
Phoenix metropolitan area a step closer to qualifying for designation as an attainment area
for carbon monoxide. The Phoenix area has met federal air quality standards for carbon
monoxide since 1996.
Throughout FY 2004, ADEQ worked constructively with stakeholders and the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to designate the boundaries for the Phoenix area
eight hour ground-level ozone nonattainment area. As a result of the department’s efforts,
in April 2004, EPA designated the new nonattainment area as encompassing the
northeastern portion of Maricopa County and a very small portion of northeastern Pinal
County. The department’s effective involvement avoided imposition of EPA’s presumptive
boundary, which would have placed the entirety of both Maricopa County and Pinal
County in the new non-attainment area.
In October 2003, ADEQ released the first in a series of plans known collectively as the
Regional Haze State Implementation Plan, which will restore visibility in national parks
and wilderness areas in Arizona to natural conditions by 2064. The plans seek to manage
and reduce visibility impairment produced by fine particles from a variety of sources that
absorb or scatter light across a broad geographic area.
In June 2004, the EPA announced its determination that Arizona had been designated as
compliant with National Ambient Air Quality Standards for particulate matter less than
2.5 microns in size, referred to as PM2.5. The decision applied to all Arizona cities and
counties, excluding tribal lands.

ADEQ Annual Report 2004 – Page 6

Pollution Control – Permitting
New General Permits for the AZPDES Program
In FY 2004, ADEQ created two new general permits for the Arizona Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (AZPDES) program: the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations
(CAFO) general permit, which regulates discharges to surface waters from large dairies,
cattle feedlots, poultry and swine operations, and provides for regulation of manure and
other animal waste through Nutrient Management Plans; and the de minimus general
permit for low risk/low volume discharges from activities such as potable water line and
fire hydrant flushing.

Pollution Control – Pollution Prevention
Expanding Arizona Fuel Options while Preventing Pollution
In January 2004, the EPA approved
ADEQ’s request to eliminate the
requirement that fuel used in the Phoenix
area during the summer contain oxygenates
like MTBE. Seasonal elimination of the
oxygen content requirement has expanded
the range of options for refiners to make
Arizona CBG and helped to remove MTBE
as a threat to area groundwater and
drinking water sources without
compromising the public health and
environmental benefits that have resulted from the state’s Cleaner Burning Gasoline
(CBG) program. ADEQ also supported passage of H.B. 2142, which banned MTBE in
fuels used in Arizona.

ADEQ Promotes Recycling with Arizona Little Leagues
In March 2004, ADEQ began a pilot project with Little Leagues throughout Arizona to
promote recycling at Little League baseball games across the state. Through the project,
banners supporting ADEQ’s recycling program were hung on backstops and outfield fences
to promote recycling during their games. ADEQ also provided recycling containers for
plastic bottles and aluminum cans at ball fields.

ADEQ Teams with StRUT to Recycle Computer Equipment and Mobile Phones
In April 2004, for the fifth consecutive year, ADEQ teamed with the non-profit Students
Recycling Used Technology (StRUT) Program to collect and recycle used computers at
several Valley locations. Recycling centers were set up throughout the Valley to give

ADEQ Annual Report 2004 – Page 7

individuals and organizations a convenient way to dispose of obsolete computers, computer
parts and mobile phones in a way that benefits schools and non-profit organizations
throughout Arizona. Through the StRUT Program, students acquire new skills by
refurbishing the donated equipment and then in turn donating the refurbished items to
local schools and non-profit organizations.

Environmental Clean Up – Remediation
ADEQ Adds Two Sites to State Superfund List
In June 2004, ADEQ made the first additions in five years to the list of sites that receive
state funding to assess and clean up contaminated soil and groundwater. Listing on the
Water Quality Assurance Revolving Fund (WQARF) registry is the first step in a detailed
process to fully assess the nature and extent of contamination, determine an appropriate
cleanup strategy and seek recovery of remediation costs from the parties responsible for the
contamination.
The two sites added are:

56th Street and Earl Drive (east Phoenix): The site is a 14-acre tract of land where a
Motorola industrial plant was located from 1950 to the early 1980s. The plant had been
used for electronics assembly at various times throughout its history, during which time
various chemical solvents and metals were disposed of improperly in the area. Motorola
officials had been voluntarily remediating the site, but addition of the area to the registry
ensures proper state oversight.
Cooper Road and Commerce Avenue (Gilbert): The soil and groundwater at this former
Unichem industrial facility site located near Cooper Road and Commerce Avenue in
Gilbert is contaminated with perchloroethylene (PCE), a solvent with a wide range of
industrial applications. An initial remedial investigation by ADEQ staff will clarify the
boundaries of the contaminated groundwater plume and identify best practices for
remediation of the site. ADEQ also is working to identify parties responsible for the
contamination.
The additions brought the total number of sites on the WQARF registry to 35 by the close
of the fiscal year. A third addition to the WQARF registry occurred in August 2004.

Early Response Actions
ADEQ’s WQARF program places a high priority on early response actions where human
health is potentially threatened, where sources of contamination can cause significant
environmental impact, or where early actions can save significant WQARF funds by
limiting the spread of contamination. Early response actions are remedial actions initiated

ADEQ Annual Report 2004 – Page 8

before the selection of a final remedy and may include relatively simple short-term actions,
such as fencing or providing bottled water, or they may involve more complex actions such
as a large-scale groundwater treatment system.
In FY 2004, the WQARF program initiated three significant early response actions, while
operation and maintenance continued at eight locations where early response actions had
been initiated in prior years.

Phoenix 32nd Street and Indian School Road WQARF Site – In April 2004, ADEQ
constructed an early response action to remove the source of contamination at a former
dry cleaner located on the southeast corner of 32nd Street and Indian School Road in
Phoenix. Soil contaminated with PCE was present beneath an existing building which
resulted in PCE vapors in the building. PCE is also a continuing source of contamination
to groundwater. ADEQ constructed an air sparge and soil vapor extraction (SVE) system
to remove groundwater and soil contamination.

Phoenix 40th Street and Indian School Road WQARF Site – Also in April 2004, ADEQ
constructed an early response action to remove the source of contamination at a former
dry cleaner facility located on the northeast corner of 40th St. and Indian School Road in
Phoenix. Soil contaminated with PCE is present in soil and represents a continuing
source of contamination in groundwater. ADEQ constructed an air sparge and SVE
system to remove groundwater and soil contamination.

South Mesa WQARF Site – In June 2004, ADEQ constructed an early response action to
remove the source of contamination at a former facility located at 1545 North McQueen
Road in Gilbert. Soil contaminated with PCE is present beneath the existing office
building which resulted in PCE vapors migrating into the building. PCE is also as a
continuing source of contamination to the groundwater. ADEQ constructed an SVE
system to remove subsurface soil contamination.

Voluntary Remediation Program
In FY 2004, ADEQ’s Voluntary Remediation Program (VRP) continued encouraging
property owners, prospective purchasers and other interested parties to investigate and
clean up contaminated sites in cooperation with the agency. There are currently 79 active
and 81 closed sites in the VRP, with remediation of 568,213 tons of soil at participating
sites. The number of applicants to the VRP continued to grow as well, with 18 new sites
containing soil and groundwater contamination accepted into the program in 2004.
ADEQ continues to educate consultants and potential applicants about the benefits of the
program, which include reducing the public’s exposure to contaminants and ensuring that
cleanups meet applicable requirements. In exchange for their initiative and cooperation,
program participants benefit from ADEQ’s expedited review of the clean up and upon
successful completion, a closure document that is accepted by all relevant ADEQ programs.
In addition, applicants can use the closure document to demonstrate to potential purchasers
and lending institutions that all applicable cleanup standards have been achieved.
ADEQ Annual Report 2004 – Page 9

UPCO Perchlorate Contamination
In March 2004, ADEQ sampled residents’ drinking water in the north Phoenix
neighborhood bordering the Universal Propulsion Company (UPCO) after the company
notified the department that perchlorate contamination had been found in the
groundwater at the facility. In October 2004, ADEQ entered into a Consent Order with
UPCO requiring them to clean up contaminated soil and groundwater at the facility and
cease open burning of hazardous materials.

ADEQ Annual Report 2004 – Page 10

Emergency Response
ADEQ Helps Launch Valley-wide Community Emergency Notification System
In November 2003, ADEQ joined the Maricopa Association of Governments to launch a
rapid computerized telephone dialing system to notify Maricopa County residents in
emergencies. The Community Emergency Notification System, or CENS, uses the 911
database to contact residents, in English and Spanish, when an emergency occurs and what
actions they should take. The $2.5 million system was funded as part of the 2001 record
$22 million settlement with TRW Vehicle Safety Systems – the largest settlement in U.S.
history for hazardous waste violations – that ADEQ investigated and which the Arizona
Attorney General successfully prosecuted on ADEQ’s behalf.

Emergency Response Activity
During FY 2004, ADEQ’s Emergency Response Unit fielded 175 reported incidents, 37 of
which required deployment of the department’s emergency response personnel. The
following exemplify the types of response actions ADEQ undertook during the period:
o During an inspection of a hazardous waste transfer facility near Tucson in
November 2003, ADEQ inspectors discovered several containers of hazardous
waste that appeared to be in an unstable condition due to age and improper
storage. Emergency response personnel were called in, determined the materials
posed a significant public health threat and stabilized the materials so they could be
removed safely. The facility operator was charged for violating state and federal
environmental laws.
o Also in November 2003, ADEQ emergency personnel responded to Glendale Fire
Department’s request for assistance with a chlorine gas release from a 90-ton railcar
involved in a cross-loading operation. ADEQ provided on-site technical assistance
to the local incident command and served the role of state on-scene coordinator for
the additional state resources deployed during the response action.
o In June 2004, ADEQ responded to a request from Nogales, Ariz., to treat and
remove residual contaminants resulting from a 30 million gallon raw sewage release
into Nogales Wash south of the U.S.-Mexico border. ADEQ’s emergency
responders oversaw the removal of more than 200 tons of debris and the
deployment of several hundred pounds of chlorine that was used to treat the
sewage that remained in the wash.
ADEQ emergency responders also participated in several training exercises in FY 2004,
including the Arizona-Sonora Bi-national Full-Scale Terrorism Response Exercise and the
annual Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station Drill.

ADEQ Annual Report 2004 – Page 11

Wildfire Operations
As FY 2004 began, ADEQ personnel were providing support to
local, state and federal officials battling the Aspen fire on Mount
Lemmon in Pima County. Department staff provided air quality
monitoring and weather forecasts information during the fire to
protect the health of communities affected by smoke from the fire
and surveyed area drinking water systems to speed the return of
residents to their homes and property once the fire was extinguished.
ADEQ also waived solid waste rules to allow private property owners
to bury burned trees and vegetation that would normally require
landfill disposal.
During the summer of 2004, ADEQ similarly provided air quality monitoring to
communities near the Willow fire in Gila County and the Nuttall Complex fire in Graham
County. Air quality monitoring equipment was setup in the vicinity and results were
communicated to local media and residents on a regular basis.

Compliance Management – Compliance Assistance
ADEQ Pollution Prevention Program Reduces Compliance Costs
ADEQ's Pollution Prevention, or P2, program works with Arizona businesses to reduce
toxic substances at the source, minimize the generation of hazardous waste and prevent the
release of pollutants to the environment.
The program requires all industrial facilities within a certain threshold of hazardous waste
generation and toxic substance use to perform a P2 analysis and to file an annual P2 plan.
The success of Arizona's P2 program is due in part to a growing awareness among the
regulated community of the benefits that come from participating in the program. ADEQ
provides a 50 percent reduction in hazardous waste generation fees when a company has an
approved P2 plan in place. Since inception, the program has, on average, saved more than
$260,000 for filers.

ADEQ Eliminates Backlog of State Assurance Fund Claims
In FY 2004, ADEQ completed the effort it began in January 2003 to improve the
administration of the State Assurance Fund (SAF), which assists eligible underground
storage tank owners, operators and others in meeting the potentially high costs of leaking
UST investigations and cleanups. As a result of this work, ADEQ eliminated the backlog of
more than 1,100 unpaid SAF applications that had accumulated over previous years. SAF
applicants no longer must wait years for payment because the SAF now operates on a cash
basis so that applicants are paid as soon as their applications are processed and approved.
ADEQ Annual Report 2004 – Page 12

Compliance Management – Inspections and Enforcement
During FY 2004, ADEQ continued its efforts to improve the
consistency, fairness and timeliness of the department's
compliance and enforcement activities. Since January 2003,
ADEQ has worked to move away from a “one size fits all”
approach to compliance and enforcement to focus resources
on major violations and repeat offenders. As a result, the
department has been better able to address those facilities that
require increased scrutiny and maximize resources devoted to
prosecuting serious violations.
The following are some of ADEQ’s more significant
enforcement efforts during FY 2004:

Black Mesa Pipeline
In August 2003, ADEQ and the EPA fined Black Mesa Pipeline, Inc., $55,000 in penalties
associated with discharges from its northern Arizona coal slurry pipeline that occurred Dec.
31, 2002 and March 24, 2003 under the terms of the Consent Decree signed by Black
Mesa, ADEQ and the EPA in 2001.
Dome Rock Industries
In September 2003, Quartzsite-based Dome Rock Industries Inc. paid a $100,000 penalty for
a series of hazardous waste violations that occurred in 2000. Dome Rock owns and operates
a facility that collects, handles and processes wastes. On two separate occasions, Dome Rock
accepted loads of hazardous waste without a permit and then shipped the hazardous waste to
another unpermitted facility where the waste was illegally burned. On each occasion, Dome
Rock also failed to comply with various reporting and tracking requirements. On another
occasion, the company unlawfully stored hazardous waste at its facility.
Estes Landfill
In September 2003, ADEQ reached Superfund settlements totaling nearly $1.7 million
with five businesses to resolve their liability for releases of hazardous substances at the Estes
Landfill in Phoenix. Under terms of the consent agreements, Frazee Industries, Inc.; GAC,
Inc. (formerly known as Goettl Air Conditioning, Inc.); Honeywell International, Inc.;
Safety-Kleen Systems, Inc.; and Waste Management of Arizona, Inc. will pay a combined
total of $1,673,000 to help pay the costs of cleaning up the site. The settlement amounts
are based on each of the company's proportionate share of the projected cleanup costs
under the WQARF program.

ADEQ Annual Report 2004 – Page 13

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners
ADEQ is pursuing enforcement action against Kinder Morgan Energy Partners in
connection with the July 30, 2003, rupture of its East Line between Tucson and Phoenix
that saturated five homes in a Tucson subdivision with gasoline and severely contaminated
soil and groundwater at the site. Though initial estimates placed the fuel release at 10,000
gallons, to date Kinder Morgan has removed more than 50,000 gallons of gasoline from
the contaminated soil and groundwater, with substantial volume remaining.
La Osa Ranch
In December 2003, ADEQ issued a notice of violation to Johnson International, Inc.,
developer of La Osa Ranch near Marana, for violating storm water regulations violations.
ADEQ cited Johnson with discharging pollutants from its ground-clearing activities into
Los Robles Wash and other unnamed tributaries of the Santa Cruz River and failing to
notify officials before clearing the land. ADEQ’s enforcement action is ongoing.
Gold Canyon Sewer Company
In late 2003, ADEQ fined Gold Canyon Sewer Company $17,000 for illegally discharging
wastewater into a wash adjacent to its wastewater treatment facility in northeastern
Pinal County.
APS Cholla Power Plant
In January 2004 Arizona Public Service Company paid $200,000 for air and hazardous
waste violations at the APS Cholla Power Plant near Joseph City. The facility failed to
properly characterize, label, store and dispose of hazardous waste. The facility also had
violated its air quality permit and air quality regulations by burning paint, paint chips and
antifreeze as liquid waste in one of its boilers, and dismantling and burning asbestos
transite panels during fire training exercises.
Speedy’s Truck Stop
In March 2004, ADEQ cited Speedy's Truck Stop Inc., in Lupton, for seven violations of
Arizona's laws governing the safe disposal of solid and hazardous waste. The violations
resulted from an inspection, which ADEQ conducted at the request of and in conjunction
with the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency. The inspection discovered
undocumented 55-gallon drums overflowing contaminated liquids onto the ground,
chemicals spilling directly from leaking pipes onto the ground, piles of uncovered gasolinecontaminated soil and waste sludge being dumped on adjacent property. ADEQ is involved
in an ongoing joint enforcement action with the U.S EPA and the Navajo Nation EPA.

ADEQ Annual Report 2004 – Page 14

Asbestos Removal Near Yuma
In April 2004, ADEQ removed more than
1,000 bags of asbestos-containing material
that had been illegally dumped at a site
southwest of Yuma. The removed waste
was transported to Copper Mountain
Landfill in Wellton, which is permitted
and equipped to store asbestos. In
September 2004, the department issued
notices of violation to three companies and
two individuals for their roles in the illegal
disposal.

ADEQ Annual Report 2004 – Page 15

Monitoring and Assessment
ADEQ Begins Year-Round
Air Quality Forecasting
In September 2003, as part of an effort to
provide more comprehensive information
about air quality in the Phoenix
metropolitan area, ADEQ began providing
year-round air quality forecasts via its Web
site and telephone information line. The
daily forecast includes information about ground-level ozone pollution and carbon
monoxide as well as coarse and fine particulate matter or dust, measured as PM10 and
PM2.5. The forecasts are available on ADEQ’s Web site.

ADEQ Launches Visibility Index Web Site
In December 2003, ADEQ launched its Visibility Index Web site, which provides near
real-time images and air quality data on visibility conditions from five different locations in
the Phoenix metropolitan area. The cameras and data instruments provide the first “clear”
picture of Phoenix air quality.
The Web site serves as a public education tool designed to provide residents with accurate
information about current visibility in and around Phoenix as well as information about
the factors that influence visibility such as air pollution and weather conditions. The site
offers photographs and air quality data measured between Phoenix and South Mountain,
the Estrella Mountains, the White Tank Mountains, Camelback Mountain and the
Superstitions. The data and photos are refreshed every 15 minutes.
Visibility is a good indicator of pollution levels, particularly during the winter months
when frequent temperature inversions trap fine particles, creating the Valley’s familiar
"brown cloud." Emissions from a wide range of sources such as power generating stations,
automobiles, trucks and other diesel-powered equipment contribute to the problem by
scattering and absorbing light passing through the atmosphere.
The Web site is found at www.phoenixvis.net .

ADEQ Begins Air Pollution Forecasting Program for Yuma County
In January 2004, as part of its efforts to provide increased information to citizens and
reduce public exposure to unhealthy levels of blowing dust, ADEQ began issuing daily
wind forecasts for Yuma County.
The forecasts, available online at the ADEQ Web site, are updated each day to provide
Yuma County residents with advance notice of weather conditions likely to cause elevated
ADEQ Annual Report 2004 – Page 16

levels of windblown dust and dirt. They are one component of a plan designed to help
Yuma County achieve compliance with federal air quality standards for airborne
particulate matter, especially particles 10 micrometers and less in size (often referred to as
PM10), which can exacerbate respiratory problems for children, senior citizens and those
with respiratory illnesses such as asthma or chronic bronchitis.

Testing Helping to Determine Nogales International Wastewater Treatment Plant Needs
In February 2004, ADEQ began testing to determine characteristics of wastewater flowing
north through nine-mile pipeline from Nogales, Sonora. In coordination with local, federal
and international agencies, ADEQ installed sampling and testing equipment in the line to
monitor the wastewater for acidity, temperature, salinity, corrosion potential and dissolved
oxygen, as well as to determine the organic strength of the wastewater and levels of
nitrogen and trace contaminants including metals. The testing has provided information
about flow rates and helped identify possible sources of non-municipal wastewater entering
the pipeline – information that is needed to finalize the design and construction of a new
international wastewater treatment plant in Nogales, Sonora.

ADEQ Partners With GateWay Community College to Train Volunteers of a Water
Quality Monitoring Program
In September 2003, ADEQ joined with GateWay Community College in Phoenix to offer
a course on water quality sampling for volunteer groups that support the agency's
watershed monitoring program. The course taught volunteers how to use water quality
monitoring equipment, develop a sampling plan, collect samples and compile data. The
data collected by volunteers is used to establish baseline conditions or trends for water that
would otherwise go unmonitored, evaluate the success of best management practices
designed to mitigate problems, to develop further research or restoration efforts and alert
state officials of potential problems.

Fish Consumption Advisories
In July 2003, ADEQ issued a fish consumption
advisory for fish caught from Soldier, Soldier
Annex and Long lakes located in the Coconino
National Forest, 35 miles southeast of Flagstaff
in Coconino County. The advisory
recommended that fish from these lakes not be
eaten and resulted from the discovery of
mercury in fish caught from this system of three
interconnected lakes. Over the past several years,
ADEQ has found increasing evidence of
mercury contamination in the lakes and streams
throughout the state. As a result of this monitoring, ADEQ has issued mercury fish
consumption advisories on 11 water bodies throughout the state.

ADEQ Annual Report 2004 – Page 17

Fish Kills Prompted Monitoring, Investigation at Salt River Reservoirs
In May 2004, ADEQ, the Arizona Game and Fish Department and the University of
Arizona undertook combined monitoring efforts to assess and characterize the cause of
recent fish kills that had occurred in Apache, Canyon and Saguaro Lakes. When the
monitoring activities confirmed the presence of potentially toxic algae in the lakes, ADEQ
issued public advisories warning swimmers and boaters to avoid contact with foamy water
in the lakes.

Public Outreach – Education and Outreach
Meeting the New Federal Arsenic Standard
In FY 2004, ADEQ continued to provide extensive outreach about the new federal
standard for arsenic in drinking water that goes into effect in January 2006, including
educating water systems about ADEQ’s Arsenic Master Plan. The plan includes chapters
on the requirements of the new arsenic regulation; a technical decision matrix which
allows a water system to find the most-effective, least-cost treatment technology for its
specific mix of source water and system configuration; a compendium of financial
assistance available, including contacts; a list of technical service providers equipped to
consult on the complete range of issues related to the arsenic regulation; and finally, an
online financial evaluation tool, which allows the water system to evaluate the adequacy of
its existing rate structure. By consolidating the needs of nearly 300 small water systems into
a single plan, ADEQ anticipates that those communities may save an estimated $6 million
in compliance costs.

ADEQ Awards $1.2 Million for Arizona Recycling Projects
In August 2003, ADEQ awarded $1.2
million in contracts to fund 13 recycling
projects as part of the department's efforts
to support and promote recycling in
Arizona. ADEQ’s Recycling Program
awards funds to private enterprises,
political subdivisions, and non-profit
organizations for Waste Reduction
Assistance (WRA), Recycling Research and
Development (RR&D) and Waste
Reduction Initiate through Education
(WRITE) projects.
The WRA program provides funding assistance to promote recycling opportunities in
communities. The RR&D program supports efforts to divert significant amounts of
material from the solid waste stream in the future. The WRITE program supports
education about and the promotion of recycling opportunities to increase awareness of
properly reducing and disposing of solid waste.
ADEQ Annual Report 2004 – Page 18

Projects funded by ADEQ included local household hazardous waste collection programs,
curbside recycling projects, Arizona State Parks collection program and expansion of
material recovery facilities, development of a commercially viable process of converting bio
mass to ethanol fuel, and numerous community education and outreach programs.

ADEQ Sponsors “Make a Splash” Water Quality Festivals for Arizona Students
In September 2003, ADEQ sponsored festivals in Surprise and Safford with more than
1,500 fourth-grade students for the fourth annual "Make a Splash with Project WET"
program. The festivals consisted of multiple learning stations where students actively
engaged in hands-on water activities and investigations. Local water quality and water
resource experts served as instructors at the water festival stations, creating bridges between
teachers, students and local experts that often generate follow-up interest and educational
activities.
Established in 1984, Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) is an international
water science and education program dedicated to teaching children around the world
about water stewardship and conservation.

Verde Valley River Days Festival
ADEQ personnel also participated in the
15th Annual Verde River Days Festival in
Cottonwood, Ariz., on Sept. 27, 2003, at
the Dead Horse Ranch State Park. This
festival, which promotes understanding
and appreciation of the Verde River,
featured interactive ADEQ displays and
exhibits designed to teach adults and
children about the department's mission to
improve the quality of Arizona's air, land
and water resources. In addition to learning about watersheds and groundwater flow
through ADEQ's hands-on exhibit, visitors learned about non-point source pollution, air
quality, underground storage tanks, proper waste disposal and recycling.

ADEQ Launches Redesigned Web Site
In January 2004, ADEQ launched a redesigned Web site (www.azdeq.gov) as part of its
ongoing effort to improve the way the department provides information about its programs
and services. The site, designed to be “user friendly,” enhances the public’s ability to obtain
information about ADEQ’s programs and activities, as well as permits, regulations, sites
and regulated operations throughout the state.

ADEQ Annual Report 2004 – Page 19

ADEQ Awards $1.4 Million in Water
Quality Improvement Grants
In January 2004, ADEQ awarded $1.4
million in grants to help improve the state's
water quality and mitigate non-point source
watershed pollution throughout the state.
A total of 15 different grants were awarded
to approved projects in Apache, Cochise,
Coconino, Gila, Graham, Greenlee,
Navajo, Santa Cruz and Yavapai counties as
part of ADEQ's Water Quality
Improvement Grant Program.
Non-point source pollution remains a top priority for ADEQ in its efforts to protect public
health and the environment in Arizona. A significant threat to water quality in Arizona,
non-point source pollution is caused by pollutants that are carried into lakes, streams or
groundwater resources through natural runoff.
The grants are funded through the U.S. EPA under the Clean Water Act.

Municipal Tank Closure Program Expanded
During the 2004 regular legislative session, ADEQ supported H.B. 2651, which expanded
the Municipal Tank Closure Fund Program to include abandoned underground storage
tank cleanup sites in unincorporated areas. Eligibility in the three-year-old program was
previously limited to clean-up sites in incorporated communities of 15,000 or fewer people.
The ADEQ Municipal Tank Closure Program can remove and clean up affected sites at no
cost to the property owner or the community and can also reimburse municipalities for
application costs. Removing abandoned underground storage tanks helps put properties
back into productive economic use in these communities, in addition to protecting the
environment.

Toxic Reduction Plan Selected in South Phoenix
In December 2003, a community advisory council selected the area between 25th Avenue
and 24th Street, south from the main railroad lines to Broadway as the target area for
ADEQ’s toxics reduction pilot project in South Phoenix. The goal of the pilot project is to
identify sources of toxic pollutants in the community and develop strategies to reduce them.

ADEQ Annual Report 2004 – Page 20

Public Policy – Policy Development
Children's Environmental Health
In October 2003, ADEQ joined with the
University of Arizona to implement an
integrated pest management program in
several Arizona schools to reduce school
children's exposure to harmful pesticides.
Integrated pest management uses a
combination of mechanical and biological
methods to minimize the need for chemical
pesticides to manage insects and other pests
safely.
In January 2004, ADEQ released its Action Plan to Improve Children’s Environmental
Health in Arizona. The plan outlined the department’s efforts over the year to address
environmental risks to the health of children in Arizona, including environmental triggers
of childhood asthma, children's exposure to idling school bus exhaust, pesticides use in
schools, air quality along the U.S.-Mexico border and other concerns.
The action plan also drew upon recommendations ADEQ received at the state’s first
Children's Environmental Health Forum held in May 2003 at the State Capitol. Building
on the success of the first forum, ADEQ hosted a second forum in April 2004 in Tucson
that addressed environmental health challenges to children living in southern Arizona,
particularly along the Arizona-Sonora border.
Throughout early 2004, ADEQ worked with several Arizona school districts to develop an
innovative pilot program to reduce children’s exposure to harmful diesel emissions from
buses idling near schools. Key elements of the pilot program, which was formally launched
in August 2004, include having drivers turn off buses upon arrival at a school and not
restart the engine until the bus is ready to depart. Diesel emissions can aggravate
respiratory illnesses, such as asthma, and have been linked to lung and heart disease. One
of the components of diesel emissions, carbon monoxide, also can reduce alertness and
learning capacity in children.

ADEQ Assumes Leadership of the Western Regional Air Partnership
In October 2003, Governor Janet Napolitano became the state co-chair of the Western
Regional Air Partnership (WRAP). With Governor Napolitano as co-chair, ADEQ has
assumed a leadership role in coordinating the ongoing efforts of the WRAP, a state, tribal
and federal agency coalition that provides technical support and assistance to states and
tribes on air quality and visibility initiatives in the Western United States.

ADEQ Annual Report 2004 – Page 21

The WRAP was created as the successor to the Grand Canyon Visibility Transport
Commission. It is administered jointly by the Western Governors' Association and the
National Tribal Environmental Council and provides technical assistance and policy guidance
to member states and tribes to help them achieve regional air quality and visibility goals.

ADEQ Initiates Biosolids Management Program
In April 2004, the U.S. EPA granted ADEQ regulatory authority over biosolids
management in Arizona. Biosolids are a byproduct of the wastewater treatment process and
are treated separately to reduce potential pathogens. ADEQ’s Biosolids Management
Program administers requirements for wastewater treatment plants, composters, land
appliers and operators of biosolids disposal sites. ADEQ also is responsible for issuing
permits, enforcing standards and providing guidance to those involved in the production
or disposal of sewage sludge.
EPA retained biosolids management regulatory authority on tribal lands within Arizona.

ADEQ Addresses Perchlorate Contamination in Arizona
In May 2004, ADEQ joined with the
Arizona Department of Health Services,
the Arizona Department of Water
Resources and the Arizona Department of
Agriculture to form an interagency task
force to assess the extent of perchlorate
contamination in Arizona and develop
strategies for reducing the risk of
perchlorate contamination.
Perchlorate is a man-made inorganic salt that has been used since the late 1940s as a
component in solid rocket fuel, munitions and pyrotechnics. Perchlorate contamination
has been found in the Colorado River, at levels below Arizona's health-based guidance level
of 14 parts per billion in water.
Perchlorate contamination also has been found at military and industrial site in Arizona,
including military bases, aerospace installations and defense contractors involved in the
production of propellants. Perchlorate is soluble and mobile in ground and surface water
and degrades very slowly in the environment. When ingested, perchlorate can limit the
uptake of iodide by the thyroid gland. Continual disruption of the thyroid gland can
impede the ability of the gland to produce thyroid hormones that regulate metabolism and
growth. Infants and pregnant women are particularly susceptible to the health effects that
disruption of thyroid functions can cause.

ADEQ Annual Report 2004 – Page 22

ADEQ Works to Reduce Hexavalent Chromium Contamination
In FY 2004, ADEQ initiated a sector-based investigation of natural gas compressor stations
along the four major natural gas pipelines within Arizona to determine the extent of
groundwater pollution caused by historic use of hexavalent chromium. A large natural gas
transporter has agreed to join the Voluntary Remediation Program to clean up such
historic contamination. Additionally, the department has taken a strong leadership role in
ensuring the hexavalent chromium groundwater contamination in California at a Pacific
Gas and Electric Company natural gas compressor station near Needles, Calif., does not
contaminate the Colorado River or Arizona groundwater.
Hexavalent chromium, or chromium 6 as it is also known, is one of several common forms
of chromium present in the environment. In air, chromium compounds are present mostly
as fine dust particles which can eventually settle over land and water. Chromium can also
attach to soil and eventually move deeper in the soil to groundwater. Exposure to
chromium occurs from ingesting food, drinking water or breathing air contaminated with
chromium. Breathing high levels of hexavalent chromium can cause irritation to the nose,
such as runny nose, nosebleeds, and ulcers and holes in the nasal septum. Ingesting large
amounts of hexavalent chromium can cause stomach pains and ulcers, convulsions, kidney
and liver damage and death.

ADEQ Annual Report 2004 – Page 23

Conclusion…
Fiscal year 2004 was a time of continued progress for ADEQ, despite the ongoing
challenges the department faced with reduced funding, staff and resources. The
department concentrated on performing its core functions more efficiently and effectively,
and, as the very successful audit by the Auditor General revealed, the department is doing
its job well, even in the face of budgetary shortfalls.
The success of the department is due to the dedicated, talented and highly professional
employees who work at ADEQ. Through their efforts, ADEQ will continue to protect
public health and the environment for all of Arizona.

ADEQ Annual Report 2004 – Page 24

printed on recycled paper

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