(Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents landowners and homebuilders working with the ACC to find a utility solution in the Johnson Utilities service area.)
By Rose Law Group Reporter Staff
Yesterday, the Pinal County Board of Supervisor’s voted 5-0 to send a letter to the Corporation Commission urging the Commission to immediately adopt interim solutions to help residents and restart development for land connecting to the Section 11 and Pecan sewer plants. The letter from Board Chairman Anthony Smith to ACC Chair Bob Burns and Commissioners requests that, “immediate viable interim solutions, including but not limited to an interconnection with Queen Creek, need to be implemented on an expedited basis [to end the current shutdown at Section 11.” Further, the Board calls upon the ACC to “immediately implement interim wastewater treatment solutions to avoid a development shutdown at the Pecan Wastewater Plant.”
With this letter, Pinal County makes it clear that it favors immediate action to avoid further negative economic impacts to the region from new or continued development stoppages. Rose Law Group co-founder, Court Rich, who represents numerous builders and developers in the area said, “this is a very important message from the County to the ACC. The County is telling the ACC that it’s okay to plan far out into the future, but that immediate interim solutions are needed to help what should be the fastest growing region in the United States overcome these shutdowns.”
A recent study from Elliott D. Pollack & Company projected the economic losses to the region from continued delays in fixing the problems at Section 11 range from a couple hundred million dollars if a solution is implemented in 18 months to more than a billion dollars if the solution takes seven more years as some long term plans suggest. Rich noted, “areas that feed into the Section 11 plant have been unable to develop for two years already, long term solutions are great, but this region cannot afford to wait another three to five years or more to get their property rights back. I agree with the County that an interim solution is essential for both sewer plants and should be immediately implemented.”
The Corporation Commission will hold a hearing on this issue at its regularly scheduled Open Meeting on September 22nd and 23rd.
