Pinal County Board of Supervisors - Work Session: October 21, 2026

At the Pinal County Board of Supervisors work session on October 21, 2026, Air Quality Planning Manager Rupesh Patel presented proposed amendments to reinstate emergency affirmative-defense provisions in the county’s air operating-permit rules. The provisions would allow permitted facilities to present an affirmative defense against penalties for certain emission-limit exceedances caused by qualifying emergencies beyond their control. The proposed approach would apply to Title V and non-Title V sources. Staff said the provisions had been part of the county’s rules since 1993, were removed following an EPA rule change, and had never been used locally. Asarco LLC submitted comments supporting the amendments and suggested clarifying notification requirements; staff said it may consider that suggestion in a future rulemaking.

Staff recommended adopting the amendments and said that, following Board action, the county planned to ask EPA through ADEQ to rescind its prior SIP submittal seeking removal of the provisions. The transcript records discussion and questions but does not capture a motion, vote, or final Board action. No procurement, contract, or spending activity was identified.