PARA News Release
In a victory for the Sonoita Creek watershed and all who depend on it, the AZ Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) has agreed to strengthen long-overdue protections for Upper Harshaw Creek, Alum Gulch and Three R Canyon.
ADEQ has agreed to update Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) surface water protections for these key waterways, as required by the Clean Water Act. The TMDLs reflect the maximum amount of a pollutant a body of water can receive and still safely meet water quality standards, according to the EPA.
The state hasn’t updated TMDLs for Harshaw Creek, Alum Gulch, and 3R Canyon for more than 20 years. PARA successfully advocated that the state’s failure to identify and track surface water pollutants was in violation of Arizona State Statute 49-234(J), which states: “the department shall review the status of the protected surface water at least once every five years to determine if compliance with applicable surface water quality standards has been achieved.”
“PARA and our partners are delighted with this hard-fought development,” said PARA Mission Coordinator Carolyn Shafer. “It will provide scientific data on the health of our waterways so that the water can be protected to the fullest extent of the law from proposed discharges by South32.”
The Australian mining company estimates it will treat and discharge up to 6.48 millions gallons a day, not including runoff from tailings facilities.
For years, PARA and partner organizations have been demanding updated TMDLs. Many of our partner organizations (Friends of Sonoita Creek, Friends of Santa Cruz River, Sky Island Alliance, Tucson Bird Alliance, Borderlands Restoration Network and The Nature Conservancy) have been actively monitoring the quality and quantity of our waters. All are eager to work with the ADEQ environmental science specialists on these long-overdue protections.