By Sonja Haller | The Arizona Republic
Over almost a decade, hundreds of Carefree residents signed petitions, spoke at council meetings and Arizona Corporation Commission hearings and wrote letters about the state of the town’s sewer plant.
But it was one man — Councilman-elect Les Peterson — who stayed with it long enough to see a Carefree sewer plant closed.
The Arizona Corporation Commission on May 1 ordered the 44-year-old Carefree Wastewater Treatment Plant closed. The plant, which was built to serve fewer than 50 homes but now serves 2,000 residents and businesses, received complaints for years about the smell and noise. As part of the regulators’ order, Peterson worked with sewer officials to hammer out a plan for closure before 2016, which includes a rate increase for residents.
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