Incoming ADEQ director prioritizes groundwater

  PHOENIX - Benjamin H. Grumbles said preserving the purity and availability of groundwater will be among his chief priorities as incoming director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.

  "Sometimes that which you can’t see or fully appreciate is the most precious, and that’s what I think about when I think about Arizona and groundwater," Grumbles said in an interview with Cronkite News Service.

  Gov. Jan Brewer this week appointed Grumbles, who until recently was assistant administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water, as her policy adviser on environmental issues. She said he would transition into the top job at ADEQ in late June, after he moves here from Arlington, Va.

  He will replace Steve Owens, who resigned in January when Gov. Janet Napolitano left to head the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

  "I’m really excited about working for DEQ and for the governor to ensure that the air is clean, the water pure, the land better protected," Grumbles said.

  Grumbles said he looked forward to addressing Arizona’s water issues in terms of quality and quantity.

   "It is so precious and so vital to the future of the state and prosperity. Protecting aquifers and the state’s water supplies above and below ground is really important."

  Grumbles also said he would focus on principles of sustainable growth and development. "That means looking to make sure that the footprint on the landscape is minimized and that water waste and water pollution is reduced."

  Brewer has said she wants Arizona to remain involved in the Western Climate Initiative, a regional effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but her office noted that participating doesn’t commit the state to action. WCI was a key initiative of Napolitano’s that the former governor handled through ADEQ.

  Grumbles said the new administration’s stance works for Arizona. "We see it as very important to stay engaged and interact with those in the Western Climate Initiative and stay part of that effort."

  Nancy Stoner, the co-director of water programs for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said she could always depend on Grumbles' extensive knowledge of environmental issues, especially water, to help her organization’s efforts.

  "He should really be able to effectively address the water quantity and quality issues in Arizona," Stoner said in a telephone interview.

  Melissa Samet, senior director of water resources for the advocacy group American Rivers, worked with Grumbles to petition the EPA to veto a project that would permit construction of a pumping plant in Mississippi River wetlands. Samet said that Grumbles demonstrates a keen ability to connect with politicians at all levels.

  "He understands how the environment affects so many aspects of our society," she said.