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Arizona spends nearly $600K to stop blowing dust on I-10

Posted at 6:58 AM, Jul 18, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-18 13:04:47-04

Arizona has spent nearly $600,000 of taxpayer money to stabilize dust blowing off the land of a wealthy farmer and causing problems on Interstate 10.

The Arizona Daily Star reports that the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality hasn't fined or cited landowner David Turner for creating the unsafe conditions by blading 640 acres near San Simon. The department may not have the authority to do so because statutes governing air quality violations can be toothless.

The blowing dust led to car crashes and forced officials to detour cars off I-10 near Turner's property.

Turner is a Scottsdale businessman who now lives in Atlanta. He told the Daily Star he was already working on suppressing the dust when the state stepped in and doesn't intend to reimburse the state.