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 September 2013.

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.

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.

In February of 1998, the Pima County Board of Supervisors launched what has evolved into the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan (SDCP) -- a comprehensive effort to protect the Sonoran Desert, guide growth and rationalize land development in the metropolitan Tucson region. Proponents of this planning process maintained that the project would reconcile conflicts between human activities and conservation, providing benefits for both wildlife and economic development. Critics, however, have increasingly alleged that implementing such an initiative will adversely affect land and housing markets, increase taxes and create problems of housing affordability. Over time a pressing need has consequently grown for objective information about the possible fiscal and economic impacts of the conservation programs being assembled by Pima County. This report addresses that need. It is a tool in the form of an impartial framework for assessment that government officials, environmentalists, business people and the general public can use for debate and decision-making.

A series of 51 individual “stakeholder” interviews and two focus groups conducted with members of the Pima County business community in fall, 2001, documented significantly divided opinion about the likely economic impacts of the county’s Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan (SDCP). The results of the stakeholder inquiries were striking. Only one major finding reflected consensus, while several others revealed sharp differences of opinion in the business community about the potential economic impacts of the SDCP and associated initiatives.