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ADEQ Chief Proposes Permitting Fee Increases
Cutbacks in the state budget have prompted the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality chief to propose that businesses pay more for permits needed from his agency. Current fees fall far short of covering the cost; until now tax dollars have supplemented fee payments. ADEQ head Benjamin Grumbles wants the new fees to take effect beginning July 1, the start of the budget year.
The ADEQ program that would be most impacted by proposed fee hikes would be the Aquifer Protection Program. Anyone planning to discharge water that might reach groundwater must go through the APP process. Research fees for an applicant, now set at $61 per hour, would double.
Grumble’s proposal to raise fees has met with general approval, even among business interests who would end up paying the higher costs. Many are supportive of the rate increase fearing that without it the state agency would lose primacy over programs, such as the Arizona Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (AZPDES) program, mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency. If ADEQ cannot do the job, then the federal agency would take over the programs or at least be more directly involved in their operations. A Dec. 9 editorial in The Arizona Republic posed the situation as “fees or feds,” very much espousing the former.
According to the editorial, state funding for ADEQ has been cut 60 percent from 2007, down to $13 million, with money also swept from its dedicated funds. More cuts are likely.
EPA Report Ranks Arizona as High Water User
A recent U.S. Geological Survey report shows western states as the top per capita water users in the nation, with Arizona ranking among the top five. Nevada had the dubious distinction of ranking first with a consumption of 303 gallons of water per person per day; Utah follows consuming 245 gallons, then Idaho with 244 gallons, Arizona with 204 gallons and Colorado with 198 gallons. Nevada and Utah are considered the nation’s most arid states.
The report, undertaken every five years, indicated that Americans used 410 billion gallons of water per day in 2005, a 5 percent drop from 1980 peak levels despite a 30 percent population increase over the same period. U.S. water use was about 1 percent less in 2005 than in 2000.
Court to Consider if NEPA Applies to Loans to Build Along San Pedro
Federal housing agencies have argued in court that they should not be required to conduct environmental assessments when guaranteeing loans to military veterans building houses outside Fort Huachuca along the San Pedro River. The case was heard by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Nov. 5.
The case first went to court in 2005 when Earthjustice, the Center for Biological Diversity and Maricopa Audubon Society sued the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Small Business Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs to force them to conduct environmental assessments under the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.
The environmental groups say that the increased water use resulting from construction poses a threat to the Southwest willow flycatcher and the Huachuca water umbel, a flower found only in wetlands along four Mexico and Arizona rivers.
The federal agencies argued that granting loan guaranties is not a “major federal action” that requires a NEPA evaluation.
They say the agencies are not legally empowered to require veterans to conserve water. Further, they argued that housing loans cannot be said to cause groundwater depletion and that there is no direct link between them.
Development in the area along the San Pedro River is a longstanding issue. Legislation passed in 2003 exempts Fort Huachuca from responsibility for water use outside the base. According to Earthjustice, the Department of Veterans Affairs has guaranteed more than 4,000 home loans in the area.