Rainbow Trout Farms is not dumping road fill and other matter illegally on its property on Old Indian Road in Oak Creek Canyon, but some Oak Creek Canyon residents think Coconino County should put a stop to the work.

Rainbow Trout Farms is not dumping road fill and other matter illegally on its property on Old Indian Road in Oak Creek Canyon, but some Oak Creek Canyon residents think Coconino County should put a stop to the work.
The property in question has been known locally as “the Gravel Pits,” which trout farm owner Dan Delaney decided to fill in out of concern for the safety of youth who use the area to “party,” Delaney said.
The work is being done by Speedie & Associates, a geotechnical, environmental and material engineering company out of Flagstaff.
Delaney said he was originally unaware he needed to obtain a permit from Coconino County if his landscaping took more than five dump truck loads.
Delaney applied for the permit to continue his work. Coconino County officials reviewed and approved the work, county records state.
The finished fill can later have a structure built on it, but Delaney said he has no current plans to do that.
He said he is simply restoring the old gravel pits and returning them to the natural elevation and contours of the area.
Trout farm neighbors raised concerns there was asbestos mixed in with the fill.
Delaney, however, is receiv-ing the fill from the Arizona Department of Transportation. The fill is coming from the Highway 89A and State Route 179 construction projects, he said.
Speedie & Associates, Delaney’s contractor, has on-site engineers sifting through the fill and removing trash and other objects which would be harmful to the environment, he said.
“I’m not going to allow anything in here that shouldn’t be here,” Delaney said.
Speedie Project Manager Shawn Huffman is at the site regularly, watching the fill and sifting through it. He holds a certification in managing hazardous materials and was a specialized military inspector with the Army Corps of Engineers for 15 years.
Coconino County District 3 Supervisor Matt Ryan said Delaney was required to come in for a pre-application meeting and provide details on what he was doing and to discuss his ultimate intentions for the site.
Ryan said at the meeting the county decided Delaney would not need a conditional-use permit to continue his fill operation. This meant no public hearing was required.
Neighbors of Delaney’s property have continued to express frustration with the current fill operation. They claim there is toxic material in the fill despite the county and private engineering company saying otherwise.
“I had the asbestos sample sent off to the lab myself,” Old Indian Road resident Enocha Ryan said, “because the county does not seemed to be concerned about this toxic material close to our waterway. I am just so perplexed by the whole project and the county’s role in this.”

Greg Nix can be reached at
282-7795, ext. 122, or e-mail
gnix@larsonnewspapers.com