RELY TO ADEQ

COPY OF AN OPEN NOTE AND RESPONSE TO ADEQ


Thank you, Marti for your gracious response.

As you may be aware my association with ADEQ rules, regulations and bulletins begins in the early 1970’s long before ADEQ was to become a separate agency. Over the ensuing years I have, unfortunately, come to learn many within ADEQ “speak-with-forked-tongue” making it extremely difficult to believe any utterances emanating from the agency today. The issue and concerns surrounding the currently mandated ADEQ residential septic inspection and certification are for me, and I hope many others, a source of genuine concern as we are committing and perpetrating a fraud upon unsuspecting citizens in Arizona. I was part of the “stakeholder” group participating in the revision to the rules sanctioned by GRRC on 12 Nov 05, though our collective voice was summarily dismissed by ADEQ management and its anointed stakeholder chairman – Larry Hawke a Pima County DEQ employee, former State Legislator and attorney – and was not surprisingly given the green light to be implemented without recognition of any formal written opposition.

I do not know the extent of your knowledge or current participation in the issues surrounding the current ADEQ inspection and certification process. I can not in all honestly purport to speak for anyone other than myself and I leave it to others receiving this email to choose to respond in whatever manner they may choose. There are a number of issues I see which are salient to any meaningful discussion about the current residential inspection and certification process.

Among them are:

NAWT training ………… “we” – that’s you and me – have allowed the NAWT training to unfairly become the whipping boy for many problems associated with the ADEQ rule. The NAWT training is in my judgment, an exceptionally good basic and fundamental training outlining the salient and relevant components of many “types” of systems available for installation thorough the country. This is not to say all the types of systems discussed can be legally installed in Arizona, but knowledge of them is useful.

The disconnect in the current NAWT training is not a reflection on its usefulness, rather the disconnect is based almost entirely that the NAWT training is based exclusively on the soil, elevation, topographic, and climatic conditions in Minnesota and portions of the US east of the Rocky Mountains. Moreover, while the current NAWT instructors are highly competent individuals they lack an understanding of Arizona and our unique situation. This presents a fundamental disconnect as the conditions in Minnesota are quite homogeneous whereas conditions in Arizona are anything but homogeneous. That in Arizona we possess at least 7 of the identified climatic zones begs the point we are not homogeneous, and that the type of long term functional systems installed in Flagstaff, Show Low, or Alpine are fundamentally different than those installed along the banks of the Colorado River from Bullhead City to Yuma. That these factors are not incorporated into and part of any curriculum falls squarely at the feet of ADEQ who chooses to be judge, jury and prosecutor of all instruction permitted in Arizona under its rule. Completing current NAWT training should in my judgment serve merely as ascending from kindergarten allowing one to continue to the next training level which should be totally relevant solely to conditions in Arizona. Moreover, I want to note I salute and laud the efforts of Kitt Farrell-Poe @ the UA for her efforts to bring the NAWT training to Arizona, I believe it is a great first step, but it is only a baby step on a ladder “we” choose not to climb.

Another rung on that same ladder is associated with the SOLS training program, again administered by Kitt Farrell-Poe and to whom I laud her efforts. A huge disconnect in the current training is the ADEQ sponsored training is incongruent with the rule ADEQ mandates all practioneers to follow. The current training is does not adhere exclusively to the teaching of soils pursuant to ASTM which is prescribed in ADEQ rules. While I personally find and take issue with this and other portions of the current rule, exactly what purpose and what message is being sent when the prescribed soil training does not support the mandated ASTM prescription mandateg by current ADEQ rule …? If, for no other reason a rule revision docket should be opened by ADEQ to amend this portion of the rule.

A most discouraging acknowledgment is to note the apparent choice by ADEQ to fervently adhere to the belief their current rule has teeth, compliance and enforcement components contained therein in. Nothing could be further from the truth or reality. Yet, even on Monday at the seminar in Flagstaff the ADEQ mandated presentation was replete with the statements ADEQ has enforcement and compliance provisions currently in rule. That’s bull shit ………… as I noted publicly at the seminar. The reality is ADEQ opted out of any direct hand in compliance and enforcement choosing a course to lay that responsibility indirectly at the feet of the 15 delegated county environmental agencies.

Moreover ADEQ opted out of any responsibility over the training and/or supervision of training and/or compliance with training leaving that solely to NAWT. Passing the NAWT training is total and prima-fica evidence one is “qualified” to provide the mandated ADEQ inspection and certification to a buyer.

Moreover ADEQ spokespersons Chuck Graf and Edwin Swanson have repeated publicly reported the presentation of the mandated ADEQ inspection and certification is “solely” between the buyer, seller, realtor, and inspector and their agency (ADEQ) is not a party to nor does it have control over this agreement. This is a totally “chicken-shit” policy statement.

Moreover, even when presented with pictures and evidence of inspection and certifications presented fraudently to buyers, all forms of government from county environmental agencies, to ADEQ, to Real Estate Dept, to Boards of Realtors all summarily point the finger and duck for cover. How do I know, I have made these presentations to the above named agencies and that was their response. The only person solely accountable and responsible under the current mandated ADEQ format is – the buyer – caveat-emptor

Moreover, state-wide it is well known that all one needs to do to “comply” with the current ADEQ mandate is to provide the “magic-one-page-wonder” certification form to the buyer, seller, real estate agent, ADEQ and the appropriate county environmental health dept, and pay the appropriate fee and everything else is conveniently swept under the rug. The accompanying work sheet which are to be attached to the one page wonder are items which many realtors, sellers and escrow agents do not want to become part of the “package” provided and accounted for during the escrow closing, as it tends to leave an indelible line easily traceable possibly making all the parties accountable and responsible. Moreover many residential real estate transactions utilizing the “packaged” residential sales form choose to “handle” the aspect of disclosure and certification of the “septic system” outside of escrow and summarily disregard it in the form.

Marti, you and Matthew noted at the seminar in Flagstaff, that there is a Mohave County Attorney who, I believe you noted currently is prosecuting ten cases of fraud or some form of illegal action relevant to the presentation of the mandated ADEQ septic inspection and certification process. Would you please forward to me that individual’s name and phone number or email to permit me to contact them to determine how “we” – that’s the citizens of Arizona – might be of assistance to helping them in a positive manner. Moreover, why is this information not being made public to enable others to see how illegal activities might be stopped cold in Arizona…..? This would seem to be to be yet another rationale for ADEQ to open a docket to revise its current rule.

The tentacles of the issues surrounding the currently mandate ADEQ residential septic inspection and certification process are many, varied, complex and inexorably intertwined. I submit as currently allowed by ADEQ to be implemented ADEQ is guilty of promoting fraud. This is a hell of a legacy for an agency whose public mantra is to protect Arizona’s environment.

I look forward to hearing from you and I thank you again for your timely reply.