Gov. Napolitano yesterday signed into law Senate Bill 1438, introduced by Sen. Jake Flake, R-Snowflake, to allow State Mine Inspector Joe Hart to accept donations of inert materials, equipment or services to fill abandoned mines, as long as the donated materials are not flammable, will not decompose and will not leach substances into groundwater.
A proposal to fill the mines with used tires ran into environmental concerns.
[above: abandoned mine, from Wickenburg-az.com]