The Maricopa County Voluntary Vehicle Repair and Retrofit Program has been suspended due to current economic circumstances that have resulted in a loss of funding for the Program. While the Program is unable to provide financial assistance for vehicle emission repairs, the Air Quality Department recommends that the necessary repair work be completed by ASE (Automotive Service Excellence) certified professionals at an Arizona Green Business repair facility. From its introduction in January 1999 through June 2009, the Voluntary Vehicle Repair and Retrofit Program had been funded by the State of Arizona. From July 2009 through November 2010, the program was funded by an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The Program provided monetary assistance to qualifying owners of older, high-emitting vehicles that had failed a required emissions test. Over the years, the program helped over 11,700 vehicles meet Arizona emissions standards, resulting in the reduction of over 2,100 tons of pollution.

During a fiscal year, employment sites are processed by the Trip Reduction Program. The TRP produces a detailed statistical summary report for each employment and student site. In addition, the TRP Task Force, along with the TRP staff, reviewed and approve Trip Reduction plans. The report tracks and analyzes the commuting habits of employees and students in Maricopa County.

The purpose of this handbook is to provide a practical guide offering a comprehensive overview of the
department’s policies and interpretations of Rule 310. The intent is that this guide will be useful and used. The handbook is organized to respond to topical questions and it is structured to provide answers to the most commonly encountered compliance challenges.

These regulations constitute the legal basis for control of air pollution sources in Maricopa County, Arizona. They are adopted to implement the policy set forth in Title 49 of the Arizona Revised Statutes and to fulfill the State's responsibilities under the Federal Clean Air Act and its amendments to provide a legally enforceable State Implementation Plan for the attainment and maintenance of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. This printing of the regulations incorporates changes adopted by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors through January 2011.

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 objective of this assessment is to evaluate whether a public health hazard exists as a result of environmental exposures in Hayden and Winkelman, Arizona, located near a smelter operated by ASARCO, Inc. Some of the residents of these towns have expressed concerns that metals from smelter emissions over the years have been causing health problems. This report uses environmental data collected from water, soil, and air in the Hayden and Winkelman area to estimate environmental exposures. The study also evaluates available health outcome data from previous epidemiological and biological-monitoring studies conducted in the area. The report concludes that exposure to sulfur dioxide occasionally poses a short-term public health hazard to sensitive asthmatics. These episodes of higher levels of sulfur dioxide occur infrequently. They do not appear to pose a health hazard to persons without sensitive airways or asthma. Other environmental exposures do not appear to pose a public health hazard.

In March 2004, a resident of Cornville contacted the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to request information on arsenic in drinking water. The resident collected six well water samples from their own well and neighbors’ wells and submitted them to a private laboratory for arsenic analysis. The analyses detected arsenic ranging from 15 to 952 μg/L. ADEQ and the community members asked the Arizona Department of Health Services to provide health information about using the water. Initial conversations with the well owner and other community members revealed that many people had concerns about potential health effects from arsenic exposure.

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.