Back to Spring 2009 Newsletter
In announcing Benjamin Grumbles’ appointment as Arizona Director of Environmental Quality Governor Jan Brewer stated, “Mr. Grumbles is an internationally renowned expert in water conservation and water quality and will serve this administration and the citizens of Arizona very well.” His most recent position was serving as Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The following exchange is from a recent question-and-answer session between Benjamin Grumbles and Joe Gelt, editor of the Arizona Water Resource newsletter.
JG: How will your experiences in Washington DC help you in Arizona at the state level?
BG: As part of my Washington experiences I have worked over the years very closely with state environmental professionals throughout the West. I’ve worked with environmental advocacy groups and also with industries and utilities — water and wastewater.
I have spent 20 years working as an environmental professional, mostly in the water arena. I have focused over the years on collaboration, tackling tough issues and making sure that decision makers got a variety of perspectives and views and to look for common ground, if that were achievable. If that were not possible then middle ground.
I am excited about this opportunity to focus on a particular place — Arizona — and tackle not just water but clean energy and air and waste challenges.
JG: How will working at the state level be different than working at the federal level?
BG: One of the biggest differences is that real-time decisions need to made at the state level and the decisions have direct impact. At the national level this process usually involves developing a broader policy that takes more time and takes into consideration a lot more procedures. Also, working at the state level provides a chance to get closer to the issues and the people impacted by the issues, to see on-the-ground issues and challenges. Working at the state level will give me a greater sense of accomplishment.
JG: In Washington DC you had a national perspective or overview. From that perspective what water issues have Arizona handled well compared to other states?
BG: I think Arizona has been very forward thinking in its regulation of groundwater compared to many other states. What I have seen is that the state has enacted measures and taken steps to protect current and future groundwater supplies. I have also seen in recent years a significant increase in water conservation and water recycling in Arizona. We are really going to focus on water conservation and water recycling. This is one of our priorities as the agency gets developed over the weeks and months.
While there is tremendous work to be done to accelerate the pace of environmental progress and to recycle and reuse water more effectively, I think Arizona has done an exceptional job to date. It is just that I know there is a lot more to be done. One of my favorites saying I have heard people say is: There is no such thing as wastewater just wasted water. Also, I am looking particularly at landscape irrigation and outdoor water use.
JG: Again from the national perspective, what water issues have Arizona not handled as well as other states?
BG: One of the greatest challenges is sustainable growth — making decisions keeping in mind the water scarcity and water quality challenges.
JG: What is your strategy for working with the state Legislature?
BG: I have worked for years with other legislatures, in particular US Congress, but also other state legislatures and for me the strategy is respect and transparency. A priority for me is to make sure that the legislators get the facts and the respect they deserves. They have tremendously important responsibility in overseeing the environmental agency and also providing funding for its programs. There are different issues, and sometimes these decision create winners and losers and my goal is not to have that always be the case, to try to find win-win solutions. But I know there will be times when the regulated entities and others or maybe members in the legislature are not comfortable with a decision or don’t understand why a decision was made. So for me the most successful strategy is to respect their role and also to provide them the facts in a timely and transparent manner.
I believe I have testified before Congress over 60 times. I always viewed it as an opportunity for me to learn and also for the congressional committees and members to learn more about the issues. I always thought that was an important role, not just testifying but also providing information to them and working with their staff and helping them make the best decisions possible.
JG: What ADEQ priorities have you identified?
BG: My priority is to get to know the Legislature and the agencies and the utilities and all those who are involved in water policy in the state. That will give me the best framework to develop priorities. The water scarcity problem and the opportunities for conservation and reuse will be a good start at setting priorities. An area receiving a lot of attention, from me, the governor and those in her administration as well as Congress is clean energy, particularly renewable energy. What is the water footprint, for example, of solar power generation? That is an area where I am going to spend quite a bit of time working with both the industry and with the scientific community to learn more about the issue.
JG: What will the relationship be between ADEQ and the Arizona Department of Water Resources?
BG: The governor is asking me and Herb Guenther [ADWR director] and others to work closely together to accelerate the pace of conservation, to save more and waste less. One of the things we are focused on is that there are different aspects to water conservation. One that ADWR is taking the lead on is the water quantity decisions and also encouraging consumers and the public to use water-efficient products and appliances. I launched the EPA WaterSense program while at EPA which is modeled on the Energy Star Program. It provides consumers information so they can purchase the most water-efficient water products and appliances. I will be a big supporter of ADWR with that program.
ADEQ will focus on water reuse and recycling using our regulatory authority under the aquifer protection permit. But also we need to look at ways to remove potential blind spots, to look at the permitting process as well as economic incentives and other ways to make Arizona a national leader in water recycling. A very important part of that is ensuring that there are protective standards in place — public health and safety — and that a permitting process is efficiently run. It is also about public acceptability and taking on the perception that wastewater or recycled water presents some kind of threat. And so it is important to be working on multiple fronts and in coordination with ADWR and others to increase the pace of reuse and recycling.
For example, it is good policy in water conservation to promote reclaimed water infrastructure in new development; it is much more cost effective than retrofitting. As I learn more about specific areas I am going to be keeping in mind what opportunities there are to advance water conservation and reuse to make Arizona a true national leader in water conservation.
I have been told there is a project involving dewatering an underground copper mine to provide water to the New Magma Irrigation and Drainage District. I am interested in that and seeing whether that can be a model. I need to learn more about it, but I am told that it keeps low quality-water out of Queen Creek and puts the water to beneficial use.
I have a lot to learn. I start on June 22 as the director. What I have been doing is reaching out and meeting key players and stakeholders and members of the public, to learn how the state, in a responsible manner, can save more, waste less and reuse and recycle the state’s most precious liquid asset. So that is one very important part of the discussion that Herb and I have been having. It is using the various tools we have at the state level.
JG: Any final comments?
BG: One of the reasons I am delighted to talk with you and know about the Water Resources Research Center is that state efforts are opportunites that involve — and need to involve — the
scientific and academic communities in significant ways. I have worked for years closely with the National Academy of Sciences. My years of experiences in Washington have taught me that sustainable solutions are based not just on the democratic process of bringing in different stakeholders and looking for a middle ground or a common ground; it is also making sure that decisions are based on sound science and that means involving the scientific community.
This can provide the foundation for what we know, for identifying what we don’t know and how we can close the gaps in the technology and other scientific areas.
I am excited about that and working with the science community as well as the water and wastewater utilities and others. For example, I have talked and worked for years with Rain Bird.
They have won various awards for being a leader in water efficiency and smart water irrigation systems, and I think this is an example of leadership in the business community that can help Arizona be outstanding in water conservation and recycling.