Pinal County alters Comprehensive Plan
Less than 1 month into the review period, Pinal County has revised it's Comprehensive Plan

Posted to PoisonedWells.com October 16, 2001

The Story In a Nutshell

On October 2, 2001, Pinal County Published the Pinal County Comprehensive Plan on the Pinal County web site to allow residents to review and comment on it during the 60 review period, which began October 1.

The Land Subsidence Map in the Pinal Comprehensive Plan showed a large area of land subsidence running directly under the Page-Trowbridge radioactive/toxic waste dump.

On October 9, 2001, an analysis of the Land Subsidence Map in the Comprehensive Plan was published on PoisonedWells.com.  The analysis found that importing nearly 190,000 people to Area 4-B, as authorized by the Plan, would increase land subsidence and increase the probability of land fissures around and through the Page-Trowbridge dump.  Fissures through or around the Page-Trowbridge dump would put the public health and financial well being of local residents in jeopardy. 

On the morning of October 15, 2001, I noticed that the Pinal County Comprehensive Plan was no longer available on the Pinal County web site.  I emailed Dennis Cady, director of Pinal's Planning & Development department, asking why the Plan had been removed from the Pinal site.

Cady responded the same day, blaming the MIS department for inadvertently taking the Plan off the Pinal web site and informing me that the Plan was once again accessible. 

That evening, I checked the Pinal web site and found that a different version of the Comprehensive Plan had been published.  For one thing, the land subsidence map had been altered -- the area of land subsidence running under the Page-Trowbridge dump had been deleted from the Land Subsidence Map published in the new version of the Plan.

In his explanation as to why the Comprehensive Plan had disappeared from the web site, Cady did not mention that he had published a new version of the Plan, and even falsely implied that there had been no change.

Additionally, there is no indication that the Comprehensive Plan published October 15 is a different version than the copy published October 2 for review by the public and governmental organizations.

In other words, Pinal County is changing their Comprehensive Plan during the review period and not informing the reviewers of these changes. 

The following is a copy of my email response to Cady, sent October 16, 2001.

J.C. Huntington

From: <jc_huntington@PoisonedWells.com>

To: "Dennis Cady" <Dennis.Cady@co.pinal.az.us>

Cc: "Anne C Graham-Bergin" <AGraham@ravlaw.com>; "Jimmie Kerr" <Jimmie.Kerr@co.pinal.az.us>; "Lionel Ruiz" <Lionel.Ruiz@co.pinal.az.us>; "Sandie Smith" <Sandie.Smith@co.pinal.az.us>; "Stan Griffis" <Stan.Griffis@co.pinal.az.us>; "Heather Urquides" <heather.urquides@arizonarepublic.com>; "Pedersen, Hans" <hpedersen@kold.com>; "Tony Davis" <verdin@azstarnet.com>; "Casa Grande Valley Newspapers" <dispatch@casagrande.com>; "Northwest Explorer" <news@explorernews.com>; "San Manuel Miner" <path@copperarea.com>; "Kari Redfield" <kar_red@yahoo.com>; "Robert Carter Olson" <Carter.Olson@co.pinal.az.us>

Subject: Re: Pinal County Comprehensive Plan On Web Site

Date: Tuesday, October 16, 2001 8:59 AM
 

Dear Mr. Cady,

As you know, I asked you yesterday via email why the Pinal County Comprehensive Plan, originally published for the final review on the Pinal County web site on October 2, 2001, was unavailable on the Pinal County web site as of October 15, 2001.

After you told me that an error MIS department had made the copy of the Pinal Comprehensive Plan unavailable to the public (see your email below), I went to the Pinal County home page (http://www.co.pinal.az.us/).

I found that the version of the Pinal Comprehensive Plan published on the Pinal County web site on October 15, 2001 is different from the version of the Pinal Comprehensive Plan published on the Pinal County web site on October 2, 2001. 

I know the versions are different because I saved both the Original Version and the New Version on my local disc.

I am disappointed that in your response to me, you falsely implied that the version of the Pinal Comprehensive Plan published on October 15, 2001 was the same as the version published October 2, 2001.  Here is a copy of your email with emphasis supplied, my annotation in [brackets] (your original response is also attached below):

 
The Pinal County home page again provides clear access to the [implying the original] Comprehensive Plan. The MIS department inadvertently relocated it [implying the original Plan] under the Department Link when the updated it Friday. They have corrected it. It [implying the original Plan] is now located as before with a clear link on the home page for Pinal County. Thank you for bringing it to our attention.
 
 Dennis Cady
For the purpose of this note, I'll call the version of the Pinal County Comprehensive Plan published on the Pinal County Web site on October 2, 2001, the "Original Version" of the Pinal Comprehensive Plan (the Plan), and the version of the  Pinal County Pinal County Comprehensive Plan published on the Pinal County Web site October 15, 2001, the "New Version" of the Plan. 
One difference between the two versions is that the Land Subsidence Map has been altered in the New Version.
The copy of Pinal's Land Subsidence Map in the Original Version of the Plan showed a wide swath of land subsidence that running directly under the Page-Trowbridge radioactive/toxic waste landfill.
The figure below is a copy of the Original Land Subsidence Map with annotation added to call attention to the land subsidence in the eastern part of the Tucson AMA. (I can supply you with the original copy sans the annotation if you need one):
On October 9, I published an analysis based on the Land Subsidence map published in the Original Version of the Plan and emailed you the URL to allow you access to the analysis (http://www.poisonedwells.com/news/2001_10_09/news_1.htm).
 
As you know, the analysis, based on the land subsidence in the eastern part of the Tucson AMA, found that importing nearly 190,000 people to Area 4-B, as authorized by the Plan, could put the public health and financial well being of local residents in jeopardy. 
On October 15, some 6 days after you received the analysis, Pinal County published the New Version of the Plan.  The swath of subsidence in the eastern part of the Tucson AMA has been deleted from the Land Subsidence Map in the New Version of the Plan.
Here is a copy of the Land Subsidence map from the New Version of the Plan:
You need to explain why the area of land subsidence in the eastern portion of the Tucson AMA, shown in the Original Version of the Plan was deleted from the New Version of the Plan. 
Specifically:
  1.. What data was used to make the Land Subsidence map published in the Original Version of the Plan?
  2.. What data was used to alter the Land Subsidence map published in the New Version of the Plan?
  3.. When was the change made?
  4.. Who authorized the change to the Land Subsidence map?
  5.. Were any other alterations made to the Original Version of the Plan?
  6.. If so, who authorized these alterations?
  7.. If so, what data was used to make the Original Version of the Plan and what data was used to make the changes (if any) in the New Version of the Plan?
  8.. Are any further changes to the Pinal Comprehensive Plan expected?
 
-------
 
The cover page of the New Version of the Plan is misleading and false. Specifically:
 
The cover page for the Original Version of the Pinal County Comprehensive Plan published on the Pinal web site October 2, 2001 contains this text:
On September 27, 2001, the Pinal County Planning & Zoning Commission approved this Proposal for transmittal pursuant to A.R.S. § 11-806G)
The cover page for the New Version of the Pinal County Comprehensive Plan published on the Pinal web site October 15, 2001 contains exactly the same text:
On September 27, 2001, the Pinal County Planning & Zoning Commission approved this Proposal for transmittal pursuant to A.R.S. § 11-806G)
Since the Original Version of the Plan is different than the New Version of the Plan, and since the Original Version of the Plan was approved by the P&Z Commission on September 27, 2001, the P&Z Commission could not have also approved the New Version of the Plan on September 27, 2001.

A.R.S. § 11-806G states (emphasis supplied):
 

  G. At least sixty days before the comprehensive plan or a portion, element or major amendment of a comprehensive plan is adopted, the commission shall transmit the proposal to the board of supervisors and submit a copy for review and further comment to:
 
1. Each municipality in the county.
2. Each other county that is contiguous to the county.
3. The regional planning agency in the county.

4. The department of commerce or any other state agency that is subsequently designated as the general planning agency for this state.

5. Any person or entity that requests in writing to receive a review copy of the proposal.

Did the Pinal Planning & Zoning Commission transmit the New Version of the Plan in conformance to A.R.S. § 11-806G?
If so, when was the New Version of the Plan presented to the P&Z Commission?

Were the following items explained to the P&Z Commission:
 

  1.. What data was used to make the Land Subsidence map published in the Original Version of the Plan?
  2.. What data was used to alter the Land Subsidence map published in the New Version of the Plan?
  3.. When was the change made?
  4.. Who authorized the changes to the Land Subsidence map?
  5.. Were further alterations (if any) explained to the Commission?
 
If the P&Z Commission has not yet transmitted the New Version of the Plan pursuant to A.R.S. § 11-806G, will the commission be presented with the New Version of the Plan at the their public meeting scheduled for October 18? 
 
If so, do you plan to answer the above questions for the Commissioners?
As to the special meeting to review the Water Resources Element of the Plan tomorrow evening at the BHP Conference Room in San Manuel: 
Please bring several copies of all the source data used to create the Land Subsidence Map published in the Original Version of the Plan as well as several copies of all the source data used to create the altered version of the Land Subsidence Map published in the New Version of the Plan.

Please be prepared to answer the above questions. 

Please be prepared to explain why you falsely implied that the version of the Pinal Comprehensive Plan published on October 15, 2001 was the same as the version published October 2, 2001 in your email response to me dated October 15 (copy follows).

 
    Warm regards,
      J.C. Huntington

----- Original Message ----- 

  From: Dennis Cady 
 
 To: jc_huntington@PoisonedWells.com 
 
  Cc: Jimmie Kerr ; Lionel Ruiz ; Sandie Smith ; Stan Griffis 
 
  Sent: Monday, October 15, 2001 11:29 AM
 
 Subject: Pinal County Comprehensive Plan On Web Site
The Pinal County home page again provides clear access to the Comprehensive Plan. The MIS department inadvertently relocated it under the Department Link when the updated it Friday. They have corrected it. It is now located as before with a clear link on the home page for Pinal County. Thank you for bringing it to our attention.
  Dennis Cady

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