Williams City Council votes to donate to the Senior Graduation party

WILLIAMS – At the Williams City Council meeting on January 22, the Williams City Council voted to donate $1500 to the Senior Graduation Night party to be held at the Williams Recreation Center. A presentation was made by Senior Miranda Velasco in which she reminded the council of the death of five graduates due to alcohol in 2007. Since then the organization Parents Who Care started the alternate party to keep graduating seniors safe.

The council then voted unanimously to build a new substation with APS.

Mayor John Moore gave a report on the new lights being installed in the city. So far 50 have been installed on east Route 66. The plan is to install them on west Route 66 and Grand Canyon Boulevard.

ADEQ Officials Announce Conditional State Water Quality Certification Issued to Rosemont Copper for Proposed Mine

ADEQ-2PHOENIX – Arizona Department of Environmental Quality officials announced today that a conditional state water quality certification has been issued to Rosemont Copper Company for activities proposed under a Clean Water Act Section 404 Permit for the Rosemont Copper Project southeast of Tucson.

The proposed activities under the 404 permit include the discharge of earthen fill material into Barrel Canyon and tributaries including Wasp, McCleary and Trail canyons and other unnamed washes, during construction and operation of the proposed mine. The Certification and other supporting materials can be found at: http://azdeq.gov/environ/water/permits/index.html

Rosemont applied to ADEQ for the certification in January 2012 but the agency’s review was suspended until the U.S. Forest Service completed its environmental impact statement (EIS) work on the project in December 2013. ADEQ’s conditional certification is based on fill activities described in the Army Corps of Engineers Public Notice issued in December 2011 with some minor changes in the final EIS. Most of the discharges will result from the development of the mine pit and construction of the waste rock storage areas, dry stack tailings facility and mining facilities.

ADEQ issued a draft certification on Feb. 21, 2014 and accepted comments through April 7, 2014. In response to public comment, ADEQ required Rosemont to prepare a Surface Water Mitigation Plan detailing all required monitoring, develop a surface water model to predict changes in surface water runoff and sediment because of the project, and to identify measures that Rosemont will implement should these potential changes have the possibility to impact downstream water quality.

ADEQ finds, subject to conditions in the certification, including implementation of the Surface Water Mitigation Plan, the activities proposed will not violate applicable surface water quality standards in the receiving waterbodies including McCleary, Wasp, Trail, Barrel and Davidson canyons and Cienega Creek. Should the Army Corps issue the CWA 404 Permit for the project, the state certification becomes a condition of the 404 Permit and is enforceable by the Corps.

“We share the public’s concern about impacts to water resources and have worked diligently to insure that this certification meets all environmental protection requirements,” said ADEQ Director Henry Darwin. “The Surface Water Mitigation Plan will provide ADEQ and the Forest Service with ongoing data and provides for mitigation measures, should they be needed, to ensure protection of Davidson Canyon and Cienega Creek, both Outstanding Arizona Waters.”

For the mining operation to begin, Rosemont still needs the Forest Service to issue a final record of decision and approve the mining plan of operation in addition to the Army Corps 404 permit. ADEQ issued an individual Aquifer Protection Permit (APP) to Rosemont in April 2012. But if the record of decision changes the project design, an amendment to the APP may be required.

ADEQ: Stormwater Permitting Program

ADEQ-2The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality is proposing to re-issue the Arizona Department of Transportation, Phase I Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System permit, pursuant to Arizona Administrative Code, Title 18, Article 9 (Arizona Pollutant Discharge Elimination System).

The formal Public Notice was published in the Arizona Business Gazette on Thursday, January 29, 2015. The deadline for submitting comments on the draft permit is Thursday, March 12, 2015. Comments must be submitted to the following address:

Electronically: henninger.christopher@azdeq.gov

or

Hardcopy to:

Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
1110 West Washington Street, Mailcode 5415A-1
Phoenix, Arizona 85007

Subsequent to the close of the public comment period, ADEQ will prepare a written response to significant comments and issue the final permit.

Questions regarding the draft permit or Arizona’s stormwater program can be directed to:

Christopher Henninger, CMS4S
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
Direct: 602.771.4508