The Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona is an independent entity authorized to finance the construction, rehabilitation and/or improvement of drinking water, waste water, waste water reclamation, and other water quality facilities/projects. As a “Bond Bank”, WIFA is authorized to issue water quality bonds on behalf of communities for basic water infrastructure. Generally, WIFA offers borrowers below market interest rates on loans for 100% of eligible project costs.

The Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona implements three types of technical assistance:
1. Project Technical Assistance – Planning and Design Assistance Grants assist an individual drinking water or wastewater system to conceive, plan, design, or develop an infrastructure project.
2. Policy Technical Assistance – Policy TA includes studies, surveys and other types of reports that provide benefit to a range of drinking water and wastewater systems statewide.
3. Operational Technical Assistance – The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality manages this program to provide assistance to individual drinking water and wastewater systems to improve facility operations.

The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund IUP describes WIFA’s plan to utilize various sources of funds to finance drinking water infrastructure and support related program activities during the State FY funding cycle from July 1 through June 30. This plan is a required element of the grant application documentation to obtain the grant award. Arizona herewith submits its IUP for the funds available to Arizona for the purposes of continuing the development, implementation and administration of the DWSRF program in Arizona.

The Intended Use Plan describes WIFA’s plan to utilize various sources of funds to finance clean water infrastructure and support related activities during the State FY funding cycle from July 1 through June 30. This plan is a required element of the grant application documentation to obtain the grant award for the purposes of continuing the development, implementation and administration of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund program in Arizona.

The Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona is an independent agency of the state of Arizona established to finance the construction, rehabilitation, and improvement of drinking water, wastewater, wastewater reclamation, and other water quality projects. WIFA operates as a “bond bank” and has the authority to issue bonds on behalf of communities for basic water infrastructure.

In September 2005, some concerned Walker residents contacted the Arizona Department of Health Services in regards to the quality of groundwater in the area. The residents petitioned ADHS to perform well water tests to determine the character of the water, and whether there is any potential health risk associated with consuming or using the water. In response to the concerned community members and in agreement with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, ADHS collected water samples from the site and completed a health consultation. This health consultation evaluates if the levels of lead and other metals in the private wells in Walker area pose any adverse health effects.

This report evaluates the potential exposure pathways associated with vermiculite concentrate processing activities at the Ari-Zonolite facility. The site is located in the near downtown area of Glendale, approximately ½ mile from the city hall, downtown shops, and other buildings. The former Ari-Zonolite facility received vermiculite from the Libby, Montana, mine. From 1951 to 1964, the site was leased the site to the Ari-Zonolite Company. Following the removal of the vermiculite concentrate processing equipment in 1964, several businesses have occupied the site. None of these businesses were involved in vermiculite processing activities. The last occupant of the former vermiculite processing building was an automotive restoration business, which vacated the site in 2002.

The W.R. Grace facility in Phoenix, Arizona, received vermiculite concentrate from the Libby, Montana, vermiculite mine. W.R. Grace Company has owned and operated the Arizona site since 1964. In 1964 W.R. Grace purchased the company that had previously occupied the site and, following the relocation of its vermiculite exfoliation furnace from Glendale, Arizona, began processing vermiculite concentrate and marketing it under the Zonolite® brand. The objective of this health consultation is to evaluate exposure pathways and potential health effects in those persons who, between 1964 and 2002, may have been exposed to Libby asbestos as a result of vermiculite concentrate processing activities and waste materials from the W.R. Grace exfoliation facility in Phoenix.

The Arizona Department of Health Services reviewed existing data and performed a health consultation to evaluate the potentially adverse health effects due to VOCs created by air emissions from the Miller Road Treatment Facility. Prior to the existence of our current environmental regulations, local industries improperly disposed of organic solvents directly onto the ground or into dry wells. This subsequently contaminated all three levels of the aquifer.

Local residents expressed their concerns regarding the tailings from the Iron King Mine and Humboldt Smelter at Dewey-Humboldt, AZ. The purpose of this health consultation is to evaluate the available water and soil sampling results to determine if the detected metal levels pose adverse health effects when residents come into contact with the water or soil. In 2008, EPA initiated the field investigation portion of the Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study for the Site. The primary objectives of the RI/FS are to determine the nature and extent of contamination and to gather sufficient information so that EPA can select a long-term remedy that eliminates, reduces, or controls risks to human health. The investigation included the collection of airborne particulates, groundwater, surface water, surface soil, subsurface soil, and sediment data across the entire Site. Data from the RI/FS was not available at the time the health consultation was prepared and thus it was not incorporated into this health consultation.