School district fined
by Barry Cohen

CCUSD – County regulators in early July fined the Cave Creek Unified School District $750 for failing to submit its annual emissions inventory by the May 12 deadline, the Maricopa County Air Quality Department reported.

The county did not receive the school district’s inventory report until June 6, said Holly Ward, a department spokesperson.

“It’s not unusual for organizations to be late with their filing, but the fines hold them accountable so they’ll follow the rules,” Ward said.

Nedda Shafir, a spokes‑person for CCUSD, said the report was late because of a personnel change in the district’s facilities department.

“The report wound up on the desks of two different people in the department, and each assumed the other was taking care of it,” Shafir said. “We have the request back on the radar screen so it will not happen again. We are good stewards of the taxpayers’ money.”

CCUSD must file a report with the county each year because it has an underground gas tank, a backup emergency generator and a co‑generation power plant–all of which emit air contaminants.

Businesses and public agencies in the county that hold air quality permits must file inventory reports each year. The permits are required to build, install and operate equipment that emits, or controls, the emissions of air contaminants.

Ward said CCUSD faces a larger fine if it fails to meet the filing deadline next year.

Reach the reporter at barry@thedesertadvocate.com.