AZ. Republic: Maricopa County potentially banning OHV on no-burn days

[ltklein]

Caught this story today. In the graphic, it said Maricopa County is proposing to restrict OHV during no-burn days (almost every nice day in AZ as far as I'm concerned!).

In every other reference, they use the term ATV.

Either way, I'm sure many of us are ATV riders as well, and even if we're not, I can't stand to see our off-road brethren restricted in such a manner.

If they're targeting ATVs due to emmissions and not for dust, it's still a bit draconian. It would be more effective and reasonable to start requiring emmisions controls like they're starting to for outboard motors and such.

If it's dust that they're trying to control, then it's likely to include us now, or soon.

Thus far, I spend most of my time in Yavapia, Pinal and Graham counties. I'm not certain what trails lie in Maricopa County.

Anyone know more that what I've put here?

Thx,
Roger

[Lifes A Jeep]

Hey Roger

Thanks for the info. Is there a link?

[AZLugz]

If they are doing that are they also going to stop all the people using their RVs and lawn mowers and all the other crap that uses gas...bunch of asshats

[06GrnRubi]

You can read it here.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0314dustcontrol0314container.html

[Lifes A Jeep]

I found the article....

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0314dustcontrol0314container.html

Leaf blowers, all-terrain vehicles and outdoor fire pits could soon be off-limits on high pollution advisory days.

After months of debate, the Maricopa Association of Governments' air quality committee has agreed on 41 measures that cities, Maricopa County and the state should adopt to cut down on coarse-particle pollution.

These dust-control measures are the core of the region's strategy to meet a strict cleanup plan imposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

If adopted, the measures would mean changes in the way that construction and other earthmoving industries do business, as well as tighter restrictions on dustmaking activities for county residents. Some activities, like outdoor burning and ATV use, would face bans or limits on days when pollution was forecast to exceed federal standards.

"It's going to take everybody, no matter how big or small their piece is," said Amanda McGennis of the Arizona chapter of Associated General Contractors.

[John_P]

Time to buy a horse?

[06GrnRubi]

Time to buy a horse?

Then how will we be able to differentiate between what's coming out of the horse and what's coming out of the MAG, legislature, senate, etc, etc, etc.
:cool:

[xFallen]

Time to buy a horse?

Maybe not. They pass gas which, of course, contributes to greenhouse gases. Plus, you couldn't do anything more than a trot in order to abate airborne particulate matter. Maybe they will start to be taxed like vehicles of various types.

Time to start designing a cat drawn carriage, maybe.

http://www.franksprogold.co.uk/images/eekonoo.jpg

Then again, PETA and SPCP would be all over it.

[My1stJeep]

Time to buy a horse?

Yes, cause as we all know that a horse kicks up no dust, nor do hikers.

However they are also filing a petition to get mother nature to stop blowing wind to stop that dust as well, but the fact that we live in a desert has nothing to do with any sort of dust. So far Mother Nature has told them what they can do with it so they are going after everyone else.

[John_P]

Yes, cause as we all know that a horse kicks up no dust, nor do hikers.

However they are also filing a petition to get mother nature to stop blowing wind to stop that dust as well, but the fact that we live in a desert has nothing to do with any sort of dust. So far Mother Nature has told them what they can do with it so they are going after everyone else.

I am sure they kick up less dust than a two-stroke. :rolleyes:

Dust in AZ is not inert...I friend of mine just contracted Valley Fever...and is suffering the effects of it. Most native Arizonians have it...although about 60% of people suffer no symptoms. Sucks to be her to say the least.

"How do people get valley fever?

Valley fever is spread through the air. If soil containing the valley fever fungus is disturbed by construction, natural disasters, or wind, the fungus spores get into the air. People can breathe in the spores and get valley fever. The disease is not spread from person to person."

http://www.dhpe.org/infect/valley.html

[Sedona Jeep School]

They can make all the rules they want, but it won't affect anything if they're not enforced.

Dust comes only from areas where the surface has been disturbed, like rock slides or recently washed out areas. Guess where most of it comes from now: construction sites, roadways, and farmland. 99% of the dust problem in the valley is human-caused, but a very small percentage is recreational users.

What would the Penn & Teller petition look like? "Sign here to stop spontaneous atmospheric displacement" (wind). :D

[xFallen]

They can make all the rules they want, but it won't affect anything if they're not enforced.

Dust comes only from areas where the surface has been disturbed, like rock slides or recently washed out areas. Guess where most of it comes from now: construction sites, roadways, and farmland. 99% of the dust problem in the valley is human-caused, but a very small percentage is recreational users.

What would the Penn & Teller petition look like? "Sign here to stop spontaneous atmospheric displacement" (wind). :D


Exactly. I cannot recall the link but their own studies indicate that the vast majority is from avoidable construction techniques, burning up the desret with needless horizontal expansion and a bunch more is from tilling the soil for farming. I think the latter was even the minority.

They can't do much about that without a bunch of sqawking so pick on the things that don't matter, hurt the little guy in the process and tell the feds they are trying.

[1BLKJP]

We have been trying to work with these guys to show them that the PM-10 readings they take need to be a 24/7 average and not just when the monitors go off stating they are out of compliance. They have started using patrols to check the monitors when they go off to try and determine what is causing it. I know of one time that it was actually OHV (ATV's at that moment in time) that was causing the disturbance.

There was also a notion that they wanted to eliminate all OHV recreation STL due to dust issues. I believe the OHVC's lobbyist has gotten that verbiage down to something like OHV use will not be allowed on STL during high pollution alert days Monday thru Friday. Which if you really think about it isn't that big of a deal because the majority of wheeling does not happen during the week and I believe we only has around 10 days last year that fell into this category. In my eyes it's a great compromise over losing all recreation rights on STL.

[Sandee McCullen]

We can whine and second guess what they can and cannot do until we are blue in the face. They can do as they wish!!! State Trust Lands are technically PRIVATE lands and they HATE "OHV and/or recreation" so they would love to see everything shut down. They have a hard on regarding ATV's thusly these guys are bringing closures down on us also but 4x4's do their share of abuse, racing on roads and playing in mud on urban parcels of land with no respect for anyone or anything. No, they do not have to consider leaf blowers, agriculture, development, etc etc.......... we are on the front page and will remain there until we ALL start showing respect or obeying laws.

We thought the "closure on Pollution Alert" days had been accepted from closing ALL State Trust Lands but later it was sounding like they wanted to close ALL areas in the non-attainment areas. If State Trust Lands close this means access to both FJ and Table Mesa areas. Also the boulders area at M.P. 12 at Lake Pleasant. If our people would stay away from urban housing or along fence lines near major roads or highways we wouldn't have most of these problems. Common Sense and Responsible Use do work for US.

Jack (THANKS) states what was originally proposed. We had better hope they will support this. No, they have no law enforcement............. but part of our original agreement plan was telling them the ability of receiving dollars from the Copper Sticker aka Indicia, to help fund law enforcement AND dust abatement materials.

[My1stJeep]

I am sure they kick up less dust than a two-stroke. :rolleyes:

Dust in AZ is not inert...I friend of mine just contracted Valley Fever...and is suffering the effects of it. Most native Arizonians have it...although about 60% of people suffer no symptoms. Sucks to be her to say the least.

"How do people get valley fever?

Valley fever is spread through the air. If soil containing the valley fever fungus is disturbed by construction, natural disasters, or wind, the fungus spores get into the air. People can breathe in the spores and get valley fever. The disease is not spread from person to person."

http://www.dhpe.org/infect/valley.html



I was making a sarcastic response to the lack of common sense of the artical. We happen to live in a desert, and while it does take something to move the dust from the ground, being a desert it does not take much. Yes even a hiker, horse or deer, or other animal can kick up dust carried through the air and can spread valley fever. I am very well aware of valley fever, my wife has it. I feel for your friend, it is no fun.

[danno]

What exactly does "ATV" mean from this story's perspective? Does it mean dirt bikes? 4 wheelers? 3 wheelers? Snowmobiles? Licensed Motor Vehicles? Copper stickered vehicles? Subarus?

The regular road up to Crown King is not paved at all, passable by cars... You see where I am going here?

Sounds really vague.

[06GrnRubi]

Is the road up to Crown King still in Maricopa County?

[Triple-XJ]

Is the road up to Crown King still in Maricopa County?

NO

[Sandee McCullen]

Is the road up to Crown King still in Maricopa County?

The first 8 or so miles yes. After that is Yavapai County of which also falls within the non-attainment area.

In answer to ATV vs ATR vs OHV etc............ they are most concerned and basing on ATV's and bikes but they INCLUDE ALL OFF HIGHWAY RECREATION VEHICLES.... including 4x4's.

If they go with the non-attainment areas the Lake Pleasant non-attainment area goes 8 miles or so north of Care Free Highway; Table Mesa; ALL of Maricopa County; White Tanks; all area along Hwy 85 west of Buckeye; Florence Junction and all areas around Apache Junction; ALL small areas within city limits anywhere near buildings. This includes Maricopa, Pima, Yavapai & Pinal counties at this time.

I'll find out if there's contacts for the public to voice their concerns and/or questions. This is NOT a joke. These guys truly mean business and the State Land Dept. seems to be supporting it fully.

[ob1jeeper]

The graded road up to CK is all in Yavapai CO... approx. 30 miles long.

The trail up "the back way", which was the original and only road to CK & Prescott, before the late 30's is as Sandee described. Starts in Maricopa CO, and quickly gets into Yavapai CO. Approx 35 miles total, from Lake Pleasant "end of pavement".

[1BLKJP]

Here's a little add on to the dust issues that have been plaguing the valley. This story was ran nationally and I pulled it off of cbs news this morning.

-----------------------

A new plan to clear the skies in the Phoenix area, which has some of the dirtiest air in the nation, calls for major shifts in the way people here live and do business.

Cozy wood-burning fires? Not a good idea, because of the soot.

Leaf blowers? Verboten, at least on "bad air" days. They kick up dust.

And on construction sites where more than 50 acres of land will be disturbed, someone there must be the designated "dust manager."

Those are three on a list of 41 measures that may soon be required of businesses and residents in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, and other communities within America's fastest-growing county. More measures may be added in the months ahead, but that's the blueprint as of Wednesday evening, when the regional Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) approved the cleanup plan.

Maricopa County is only the second locale in the U.S to have the dubious distinction of being listed on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Five Percent Plan — a move that triggered the need for a cleanup plan. The EPA tagged the county at the end of 2006, after pollution from particulates — known to experts as "fugitive dust" — exceeded the emissions standard for two years running. In 2005, the area had 19 days over the federal limit; in 2006, it broke that record with 27 days over the limit.

Under the Five Percent Plan, Maricopa County must cut its particulate emissions by 5 percent a year, until it reaches the federal standard of 150 micrograms of fugitive dust per cubic meter of air, as measured within a 24-hour period. That means 4,594 fewer tons of airborne dust each year until at least 2009.

The plan MAG has put forward concentrates on construction-related activities — for good reason, experts say.

"Construction sites contribute most of the particles into the atmosphere," says Joe Fernando, a professor at Arizona State University in Tempe who works on particle dispersion problems. "It is realistic [and] possible to reduce those."

The good news is that California's San Joaquin Valley, the other region to fall under the Five Percent Plan because of particulate matter, has shown that dust-reduction measures can work. Moreover, the topography there resembles that of metropolitan Phoenix – a valley surrounded by mountains that trap the dirty air within.

In 2002, the San Joaquin Valley was required to submit to the EPA a plan to reduce airborne particulates by 5 percent a year, says Jaime Holt, public information administrator in Fresno for the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. After finding that the San Joaquin Valley reached its goals in 2003, 2004 and 2005, the EPA in October 2006 said the valley attained standards for particulates.

The district's cleanup program included an intensive public-education campaign through the media, says Ms. Holt. "One of our initial strategies was to regulate fugitive dust — dust kicked up during agricultural or construction operations — like, 30 various things," she says. "On the individual level ... on certain days in winter when the air-quality index is over 150, we prohibit residential wood-burning."

MAG's measures appear to be similar. The top two involve public education and training programs. Some address unpaved roads, unpaved parking lots, and vacant lots where, when the earth is disturbed, dust particles can be carried aloft by the wind. Others address equipment used to move sand and gravel, and how they should operate. Still others deal with the use of all terrain vehicles, leaf blowers, and wood-burning stoves. Moreover, Maricopa County has hired an official involved in San Joaquin Valley's pollution-abatement effort.

A key, though, will be enforcement of any new measures, says Joe Anderson of Arizona State University, an expert on air-quality issues. "One of the biggest problems in [Maricopa] county has been a complete lack of enforcement. It's mostly about the political will to do what's needed."

The area's air-quality plan is still a work in progress. Maricopa County needs to submit to the EPA a comprehensive plan to reduce fugitive dust by the end of the year, and the EPA would have to sign off on it before measures would go into effect.

The stakes are significant. If the county doesn't meet these requirements, it faces sanctions — potentially losing some $1.1 billion in federal highway grants.

The measures MAG approved on Wednesday will now be distributed to local governments within the regional council, such as the cities of Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, and others. Those governments have until June 15 to agree to the measures or offer changes.

"Once they approve it, it becomes legally binding," says Kelly Taft, MAG spokeswoman.

If the cities or other local governments offer changes, those will be incorporated by MAG's air-quality technical advisory team, which runs computer models to determine if the measures will decrease airborne particulates to the required level, says Ms. Taft. The bottom line is that the plan MAG offers the EPA in December 2007 must guarantee a 5 percent reduction in particles per year, beginning in 2008.