• The Board of Supervisors received a presentation of proposed rulemaking to reinstate emergency affirmative defense provisions in Chapter 3, Article 1, Section 081 (§ 3-1-081) and the affirmative defense definition in Chapter 8, Article 1, Section 020 (§ 8-1-020) of the Pinal County Air Quality Control District Code of Regulations. Rulemaking action triggered by the D.C. Circuit rule in Startup/Shutdown/Malfunction (SSM) Litigation Group v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rescission of the Title V emergency affirmative defense provisions was based on erroneous legal reasoning. (Item 1)

Time References

Item 1: 00:39

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1891 Courthouse, located at 135 N. Pinal Street, Florence, AZ 85132.

Members of the public wishing to address the Pinal County Board of Supervisors may do so in person at the Call to the Public section of Regular Board Meetings. Action taken as a result of public comment will be limited to directing staff to study the matter or rescheduling the matter for

further consideration and decision at a later date.

This week, the County, along with the Pinal County School Superintendent's Office, held two ribbon-cuttings to mark the completion of the Final Mile Project, which has seen 32 5G radio towers constructed across Pinal County, bringing wireless internet service to rural communities.

The project has been years in the making, with access gaps brought to light during the COVID pandemic, when schoolchildren had to learn remotely.

Ribbon-cuttings were held in the Town of Mammoth, located in the southeast of the County, and at J.O.Combs School District in San Tan Valley.

The project was primarily funded by ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) COVID recovery funds, but would not have been possible without four individual Congressional earmarks, supported by Senator Mark Kelly, Former Senator Kyrsten Sinema, Representative Juan Ciscomani, and Representative Greg Stanton.

Pinal County and the Pinal County School Superintendent’s Office worked together to develop the system, with the towers constructed on county-owned property, or property belonging to school districts, Central Arizona College, and the Town of Mammoth through eighteen IGAs (Intergovernmental agreements).

As well as providing improvements for remote learning, the service could offer opportunities in areas such as telemedicine, government services, emergency management, and local business and economic development.

"​We've got to increase the ability for our kids to learn, and to be able to learn at home, and COVID showed that - it's what motivated us as a County to build this network," commented District 2 Supervisor Mike Goodman. "This is exactly the sort of project that COVID funds were designed for. We also need to express a lot of gratitude to Senator Kelly, former Senator Sinema, and Representatives Ciscomani and Stanton for much of the dollars that were granted to us to expand on this."

Meanwhile, Pinal County School Superintendent Jill Broussard said, "​For students to be able to have remote access to their curriculum, as well as to teachers and tutors online, is huge. This was a long and very involved process with so many partners, and we couldn't have done it without the cooperation and coordination of our School Districts, Central Arizona College, and the Town of Mammoth."

The County would also like to thank the construction and technical partners who have worked on this project: Doege Development, AZ Builders, Enterprise Network Solutions, Fortress Solutions, and Nokia.

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