Utility work is scheduled on State Route 89A in Cottonwood at Willard Street on Sunday, Feb. 8 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Northbound SR 89A between Willard Street and Calvary Way (mileposts 351 to 352) will be narrowed to one lane to provide a safe work zone for utility crews. Minimal delays expected during work hours.
The work zone will be clearly marked by temporary barricades and signage.
PHOENIX – 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.
The 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
Southbound State Route 89 in Chino Valley will continue to be narrowed to one lane between Perkinsville Road and Road 3 North for utility work from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, February 2 through Friday, February 20.
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.
Fines are doubled for speeding in a construction zone.
Speed limits are reduced to 45-MPH in the construction area.
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.
PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation will host a public meeting at Fowler Elementary School in West Phoenix on Wednesday evening, Jan. 21, to provide community members with information and receive comments about the planned State Route 30 transportation corridor.
Four potential alignments for State Route 30, along with a “no-build option,” are being studied by ADOT on behalf of the Maricopa Association of Governments, which serves as the Phoenix area’s freeway planning agency.
Any east-west SR 30 project would generally extend from 59th Avenue on the east to Perryville Road on the west, within boundaries of Lower Buckeye Road on the north and the Gila and Salt rivers on the south. Regional transportation planners have looked at SR 30 as a future way to provide additional freeway traffic capacity south of I-10 in the West Valley.
Under MAG’s Regional Transportation Plan for the metro Phoenix area, SR 30 is currently an unfunded long-range project anticipated for construction after 2026, if and when funding is available.
The SR 30 public meeting is scheduled as follows:
When: Wednesday, Jan. 21 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Where: Fowler Elementary School, 6707 W. Van Buren Street, Phoenix 85043
Who: Representatives from ADOT’s SR 30 Study Team will be available to answer questions. A brief presentation about the study also will be conducted at 6:15 p.m.
ADOT’s study is designed to determine a recommended alignment alternative for the potential SR 30 corridor, or to recommend a no-build option. The study was initiated in 2005 with agency and public meetings. Since that time, ADOT has researched engineering challenges and environmental issues and collected public and stakeholder input while developing the four potential SR 30 alignments.
After the Jan. 21 meeting, comments for the SR 30 study also can be submitted through Feb. 20. Comments can be sent online at azdot.gov/SR30 or by email at SR30@azdot.gov. Comments also can be sent by phone at 1.855.712.8530 or mailed to the SR 30 study team, c/o ADOT Communications, 1655 W. Jackson Street, #126F, Phoenix 85007.
Information about the study is available at azdot.gov/SR30.
PRESCOTT – Crews will increase construction activity next week as work progresses on the widening of State Route 89 between Prescott and Chino Valley. Starting on Monday, Jan. 19, southbound traffic will be shifted onto the new southbound roadway at the outer loop roundabout for approximately two miles.
Business access at the north end of the project will be modified as a result of the traffic shift on Monday. Southbound traffic will be required to access the businesses by using the new Kalinich Avenue roundabout. The northbound traffic access to the businesses will not be affected. Drivers exiting all businesses along SR 89 will only be permitted to turn right.
Over the next four weeks (weather permitted), drivers need to be aware of increased construction activity through the project as crews continue with pipe installations, complete the two new roundabouts (Deep Well Ranch Road and Kalinich Avenue), allow crews to finish drainage improvements and final roadway excavation.
Law enforcement personnel will be present and drivers are encouraged to adhere to the reduced speed limit and be alert for construction equipment and personnel.
The work zone will be clearly marked by temporary barricades and signage.
Southbound Interstate 17 will be narrowed to one lane overnight at the State Route 169 junction, tonight and tomorrow, Jan. 15 and 16 as the Arizona Department of Transportation completes bridge maintenance work south of Camp Verde.
Normal work hours are Sunday through Thursday through the end of this month between 7 p.m. and 9 a.m. daily.
A 12-foot width restriction will be in place as work occurs.
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.
PHOENIX – Students who undergo training at state-approved driving schools will now be able to receive training completion certificates that may waive written and road tests at Motor Vehicle Division offices.
However, there are requirements that driving-school students must meet, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.
In order to qualify, students must be Arizona residents and attend classes at an ADOT-contracted driving school. A minimum of 30 hours of classroom training is required to waive the written exam and at least 10 hours of behind-the-wheel training is required to skip the road exam.
“Our top priority is safety,” said Motor Vehicle Division Director Stacey Stanton. “Through this program, we’re partnering with the private sector to encourage new drivers to get as much professional instruction as necessary until they can safely drive on their own. We hope more drivers will utilize these training opportunities.”
While most students who present training completion certificates at Motor Vehicle Division offices will get their instructional permit or driver license at that time, some certificate holders will be randomly selected to take the written or road exam at the Motor Vehicle Division office.
This random testing will be used to gauge the quality of instruction being given at the driving schools. Certificate holders should come to the Motor Vehicle Division office prepared to take the written or road exam in case they are selected.
A list of approved driver training schools is available at azdot.gov/drivingschools. There are more than 50 ADOT-approved schools across the state.
This initiative is one way, in addition to Authorized Third Party offices that provide a variety of motor-vehicle services, that ADOT is working to decentralize services, making them more accessible to community members around the state by engaging the private sector.
Enhancing driver training, and providing opportunities for ADOT-approved driving schools to issue certificates of completion to potentially bypass Motor Vehicle Division office testing, is an action step in ADOT’s new Strategic Highway Safety Plan.
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. 15-32 Published on January 8, 2015
AZPDES Permit No. AZ0025313
City of Buckeye
423 Arizona Eastern Avenue
Buckeye, Arizona 85326
The City of Buckeye has applied for a renewal AZPDES permit for the proposed discharge of up to 4.5 million gallons per day (mgd) of treated domestic wastewater from the Central Buckeye Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) to the Buckeye Irrigation Ditch (BID) Canal, tributary to the Arlington Canal, tributary to the Gila River in the Middle Gila River Basin in Township 1S, Range 3W, Section 8, in Maricopa County, Arizona. The Central Buckeye WWTP is a publicly owned treatment works that receives domestic wastewater from residential and commercial sources in the City of Buckeye. Treatment consists of influent screening and grit removal, secondary treatment including return activated sludge process, secondary clarification, tertiary filtration, chlorination, and dechlorination. Polymer is added to the remaining sludge then treated by a gravity belt thickener and belt filter press before being transported to a local landfill for disposal.
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. In Phoenix, 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 Ramona Chomor, 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).