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ADEQ officials visit with Hayden and Winkelman residents.
Misael Cabrera, Director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, along with his team, Tim Franquist, the Air Quality Director, and Dr. Matt Pace, Meteorologist for ADEQ, hosted a “Donuts with the Director” event on Saturday to help local residents and community officials understand air quality standards and the air quality ratings.
Director Cabrera explained that he wants to ensure that all of greater Arizona has access to the data on their air quality and environmental health.
“I believe that the state government should work for all citizens,” he said.
While the major metropolitan areas in Maricopa County have daily updates, he explained, it is often difficult to provide those updates in rural Arizona regarding their air quality. Many factors go into the daily air quality from traffic and construction to weather and wind speeds.
Cabrera said that he is not an “anti-economy” director. He explained that there must be a balance between the economic drivers and the environment.
“A bad economy equals poverty and poverty means bad health. That is never good for the environment,” he said. He explained that ASARCO has been working to comply with the air quality standards and the agency is pleased with the overall progress.
Recently ADEQ has installed air quality reporting stations in Hayden. Initial plans called for the local municipalities to raise a red, yellow or green flag to indicate the daily air quality based on the data. Hayden Councilmember Dean Hetrick explained that the Town had concerns raising those flags as it could deter visitors from stopping at local businesses or visiting the river. Director Cabrera explained that he was very sensitive that concern, but wanted to make sure that local residents have access to their local air quality. Similar systems have been deployed in Nogales and Yuma to monitor the Ozone and PM10 levels. Tucson and Miami also have air quality monitoring programs. For Hayden, ADEQ is monitoring for lead in the air.
The ADEQ officials shared the phone based app that has been deployed for Nogales and Yuma. Officials in Hayden and Winkelman asked that an app be deployed for the Hayden/Winkelman area as well. The app will also allow for text message updates to be sent to those who do not use smart phones or do not have a data plan.
ADEQ and officials from Hayden and Winkelman agreed that a second meeting should be set up to learn how the app works and how to get the word out to the community on using the app.
Demo of an ADEQ Air Quality app.
Mila Besich is a resident of Superior with two children. She volunteers for many local organizations. She is an experienced fundraiser and event planner for Copper Corridor Economic Development Coalition. She covers some of the area town councils and schools.
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