For a select group of lucky individuals, vague statutes and complicated regulatory codes are fun to read. 

Those dedicated professionals don’t need an additional reason to spend hours unraveling the complicated web of the Code of Federal Regulations.  For the rest of the world, it all boils down to “why do I care?” and “will this ever affect me?” 

Those two worlds collided for me recently, when I received in the mail my Arizona car registration renewal form with the words “Emissions Test Required” printed on it. 

I’ve had my car, a model year 2006, for just over 5 years now and had never had to have the test before, so I was surprised to see that it was now required.  Turns out, you get a sort of “free pass” exemption for “most 2007 and newer model year vehicles.” 

Presumably, that year gets shifted one year newer each year, leaving those of us with about 5 year old cars as rookie emissions test-goers.

With the help of the informative pamphlet I received in the mail with my registration and www.myAZcar.com, I read up on what I needed to know to get my required certification for registration.  

The pamphlet offers 15 locations in the Phoenix metropolitan area, conveniently open Monday through Friday from 8 am to 7 pm and Saturdays from 8 am to 5 pm.  The website also allows you to view the approximate wait time at each station, which are operated by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ).

I arrived at my chosen station at about 4:30 pm on a Tuesday and only had to wait about 5 minutes.  This gave me a chance to review my handy pamphlet for tips including turning off my air conditioner and keeping the engine running while in park or neutral. 

It also gave me a minute or two to check out my surroundings, including large signs informing me that emission tests and requirements are a direct result of increasingly strict federal regulations.

When it was my turn, the station attendant directed me to pull up into the testing space and asked me to turn off the car and pop the gas tank.  He hooked my gas cap to a piece of machinery and asked me to step out of the car. 

While I sat in a chair nearby, he removed the gas cap contraption and put a different testing apparatus somewhere under my steering wheel.  Two or three switches and flips later, he told me I could get back in the car and asked how I wanted to pay for the test, which was $27.75.

No more than 10 minutes after we started, he handed over my report and informed me that my vehicle had passed. 

Results of my test were electronically transferred to the Department of Transportation, so I can now easily go online to finish the registration process.

If this sounds like too much of a hassle for you, there are several options that will allow you to avoid the emissions test process altogether. 

First, you can only own vehicles that are less than 5 years old, assuming the requirements don’t change to include more vehicles.

Second, if you’ve chosen to reduce your carbon footprint by driving an alternative fuel vehicle, you may be exempted based on certain requirements.

This past Tuesday, a dust storm unlike any other hit the Phoenix area, obscuring the sun and pretty much everything else. In its wake it left downed trees, power outages, and a thick layer of dust over everything. 

Dust storms are not uncommon in our area during the monsoon season (roughly June through September), but this one left even life-long residents in awe.

Deemed a haboob (which in Arabic means “strong wind”), this dust storm was estimated to be around 5,000 feet high and up to 100 miles wide, reaching speeds of 50 miles-per-hour.

This storm also traveled an unusually long distance, around 150 miles from where it originated near Tucson. 

Phoenix residents had plenty of warning that the storm was on its way, but it never hurts to remember that we need to be prepared – for another haboob, a major thunderstorm, or whatever other disaster, natural or not, may strike.

The importance of being prepared in an emergency applies to businesses as well as individuals. 

For example, Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix had to shut-down for approximately 45 minutes during the haboob.  That meant delaying flight take-offs and re-routing flights scheduled to land in Phoenix.  They also had to deal with the unexpected occurrence of having the smoke alarms go off in the baggage claim area due to the dust blowing in through the doors.

Any business, regardless of what line of work it is in, should have an emergency preparedness plan.  This is extra important for businesses that are tasked with the protection of public health and safety. 

This issue has come up most recently in this blog by way of nuclear facility safety – during earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding and wildfires. 

Our business helps organizations stay aware of, and therefore be prepared for, changes in regulations that are put into place to help them remain safe. 

The haboob was a great big dusty reminder of why it is important to always have your eyes open to safety and to know what to do when something unexpected happens.

On July 3, 2010, President Obama announced the offer of a conditional commitment to Solana, Arizona-based Abengoa Solar Inc. for a $1.45 Billion loan guarantee to finance the construction and start-up of a concentrating solar power generating facility. The facility will utilize parabolic solar trough technology and a 6-hour energy storage system, which will add 250 MW of capactiy to the electrical grid.

Named the Solana Project, the facility will be located near Gila Bend, Arizona. It will supply about 70,000 homes with power and reduce overall CO₂ emissions by 475,000 tons per year. Abengoa Solar has signed a 30-year power purchase agreement with APS, the state’s largest electric utility, to sell the energy.

Solar trough systems use parabolic mirrors that focus the sun’s energy at up to 60 times its normal intensity onto a receiver pipe filled with a fluid, usually synthetic oil. The fluid becomes heated to over 700°F and is pumped through a heat exchanger to produce steam. Electricity is then produced with a conventional steam turbine. The Solana facility will also inlcude 6 hours of molten salt thermal energy storage, which will dispatch energy during cloudy periods and evening hours.

The project will create over 1,600 construction jobs with an additional 85 permanent jobs, and is expected to attract hundreds more in indirect employment. Two assembly plants will be constructed on the Solana Project site, as well as a factory in Surprise, AZ to supply the company’s need of over 900,000 mirrors.

Regarding the Solana Project, Energy Secretary Steven Chu stated, “Supporting this type of innovative renewable energy project is part of our commitment to creating a clean energy future while significantly reducing green house gases.”