Howard Shanker filed an official appeal protesting Arizona Department of Environmental Quality?s Aquifer Protection Permit issued for the development at Bella Terra.
By Mike Cosentino
Larson Newspapers
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Howard Shanker filed an official appeal protesting Arizona Department of Environmental Quality?s Aquifer Protection Permit issued for the development at Bella Terra.
The ?appeal is based on numerous asserted violations of the APP requirements,? he said.
Shanker is the attorney for the Red Rock Rural Community Association and the Sierra Club.
The appeal, submitted to the ADEQ, seeks monitoring of the water quality of Oak Creek near the site of the development, located off Upper Red Rock Loop Road, southwest of Sedona.
The RRRCA and the Sierra Club fear effluent from the water treatment plant planned by BySynergy, Bella Terra?s developer, will seep into Oak Creek because the geology of the area is so porous.
Michael Zito, BySynergy CEO, said the effluent from the plant will be non-polluting.
?We are performing tertiary treatment. The quality of our effluent exceeds A+,? BySynergy spokeswoman Donna Michaels said.
?The plant will be state of the art,? she said.
BySynergy itself is appealing the issuance of the permit in regard to its requirement for financial assurance. The company has not yet paid the nearly $45,000 in permit fees owed to ADEQ.
The appeal will go the Water Quality Appeals Board on Monday, March 12, said Tom Marcinko, ADEQ deputy director of communications.
