Hearing scheduled on bill to de-license geologists in Arizona

The Arizona House Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on HB2613, the bill to eliminate geologist registration in Arizona, at 9:30 AM, Wednesday, February 17, in House Hearing Room 1.

You can register to speak or indicate your support or opposition to this and other bills, or contact legislators through the Legislature's web site.   Options are listed at  http://www.azleg.gov/alisStaticPages/FAQ.asp

Elimination of licensing of geologists would likely result in geologists having to get engineers to sign off on their reports to clients and agencies.

A message sent out by the Board on Technical Registration noted the bill also moves them into the AZ Dept. of Administration, with unknown consequences:

ALERT**HB2613 Proposes to Deregulate Geologists and Landscape Architects. It also proposes moving the Board into the Arizona Department of Administration, the ramifications of which are unknown at this time. Please review the Bill; it may be heard in the House Commerce Committee as early as February 17, 2016 at 9:30 am. http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/52leg/2r/bills/hb2613p.pdf. Please look at sections 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and Section 56, 57, 58. You can find your legislators' contact information at http://azredistricting.org/districtlocator/. You can contact the Governor http://azgovernor.gov/governor/form/contact-governor-ducey.

Hearing scheduled on Mineral Museum transfer bill

A hearing is set for Wednesday, February 10, in the Arizona Senate Government Committee for SB1440, the bill that would transfer the Arizona Mining & Mineral Museum from the Arizona Historical Society to the Arizona Geological Survey.  The museum would be redesignated as the Arizona Mining, Mineral, and Natural Resources Education Museum.   [Right, view of the displays in the former mineral museum that closed in 2011.  Credit, Jan Rasmussen]

The hearing starts at 2 pm, in Senate Hearing Room 3 at the Capitol in Phoenix.   However, it is near the bottom of the list of 20 bills being heard, so it's not certain they will get through the entire agenda tomorrow.

A similar bill was approved by the Legislature last year but vetoed by the Governor over concerns about plans for opening the new museum.

Man killed in sinkhole collapse in Queen Creek

A 60-year old male farm worker died when a sinkhole opened up under him in an agricultural field in Queen Creek, Arizona, south of Phoenix, on Friday afternoon.

We are investigating whether the sinkhole could be part of a larger earth fissure that could extend to homes or roads.  Our initial review suggests that is not likely.  

Joe Cook, who heads our Earth Fissure Mapping Program reports that the site of the Friday death is not near any known earth fissures or in an area normally prone to forming fissures. Arizona Dept. of Water Resources does not show any active subsidence in that area either. In the news videos you can see the water is pouring in from the surface before they blocked the canal with dirt. Because it’s an agricultural area and there has been a lot of tilling and drainage manipulation/ponded water it’s possible this is collapse related to subsurface piping. The collapse appears to be on a bermed portion adjacent to the field and water looks to be routed/ponded there regularly. 

This video of the recovery effort courtesy of NBC News:

More local news reports at:

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/mesa/breaking/2016/02/06/queen-creek-sinkhole-victim-identified/79925542/

http://www.nbcnews.com/video/body-recovered-from-arizona-sinkhole-617390147762

http://www.12news.com/story/news/local/valley/2016/02/05/sinkhole-opens-queen-creek-missing-person-may-inside/79894934/

Deregulation of geologists in Arizona

A bill was just filed in the Arizona House to deregulate geologists and landscape architects, removing those professions from the AZ Board of Technical Registration and replacing positions on that board with two public members.   


HB2613, if passed, will prohibit geologists from calling ourselves "professional geologists."  We would then be known as "design professionals."  [Photo credit, Resolution Copper]

The proposal is angering geologists across the state.  We are copied on emails flying around the community lining up opposition to the bill.

Stephen Noel, the geologist on the Board of Technical Registration emailed the following message to 

Fellow Arizona Registered Geologist:

On February 4, 2016, HB 2613 was introduced that,  among other things, would eliminate the registration of geologist in the state of Arizona.  As the geologist member on the Arizona Technical Board of Registration, I see first-hand the importance of registration of geologist and the benefits it provides to the health and safety of Arizona citizens and the environment.  Please send a note to your representative and express your opposition to this bill, and how deregulation will negatively impact the public health and safety of all Arizona Citizens based on your unique experiences.   

Time is of the essence, please send today! Thanks.

Stephen D. Noel, R.G.

Arizona Registration No. 17065