Coconino County
Coconino County has enacted building guidelines that put a high premium on preserving the county's aquifers and environment. The county encourages Green building and greywater reuse in its literature. Their office's printed materials are the source for the following lists. These lists are always being revised and we welcome your feedback on them.

Green Building Tips / Plot Plan Specs. / Greywater Regs.
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County Contacts
Address: 2500 N. Fort Valley Road, Bldg. 1
Flagstaff, AZ 86001-9331
Website: http://co.coconino.az.us
TEL:
FAX:		 (928) 226-2700
(928) 226-2701

Green Guidelines for Sustainable Living
Reproduced from County publication Green Building Guidelines.
Subtitled, "Energy-saving considerations to make your home more sustainable." This list is full of wise advice on home placement and design that is specific to our area. It is published below in full.

1. Select your building plans after a building site is purchased or determined. Design a home suitable for the lot. Consider if the lot is sloping or flat, the direction of prevailing wind, road access, and where the sun rises and sets in the different seasons.

2. Orientation to sun is very important.
A) Southern exposure glazing is very friendly at this latitude. The sun is directly overhead during our warmest months and to the South during the coldest.
B) Keep north facing windows to a minimum as the North side is cold and hopefully snow packed for a large part of the winter season. This side of the house is a poor choice for a garage entrance or an unprotected house entry.
C) Western windows will cause intense overheating on summer afternoons. Select window types and coverings to prevent excessive solar collection.
D) Eastern glass exposures are less of a concern for overheating and the colder months' heat gain is welcome.

3. Wind is a huge concern in most locations of Coconino County.
A) Windbreaks, fences, house design, and plantings are helpful in limiting the amount of heat loss or gain through doors and operable windows.
B) Proper wind orientation can enable outdoor activities on windy days.
C) Design operable windows and screen doors to cross ventilate from coolest areas and from leeward side in high wind areas.

4. Use water wisely and conserve when possible.
A) Use runoff water for plants and animals. Direct gutter downspouts and roof drippings to vegetation and containers.
B) Control erosion with berms, ditches and groundcover.
C) Follow the guidelines for gray water usage.

5. Leave natural grasses, bushes and trees as intact as possible. It takes a long time to grow a tree and most of the natural ground cover will never return if totally disturbed. Note: While preservation of trees is generally desirable, some removal may be advisable in the interest of fire prevention, forest health, and improved solar exposure.

6. Use shielded outside lights and turn them off when not needed. Our night sky is magnificent!

7. Use locally-manufactured products, and locally-harvested raw materials. Use contractors and businesses from this area. This not only conserves energy, but also helps the local economy.

8. Sustainable tips and opinions.
A) Smaller areas are easier to heat and cool and finance.
B) "The view" should not be the only determining factor in home orientation.
C) The best-built house is the one you can leave the windows open the most days of the year.
D) If your lifestyle relies heavily on urban amenities, why live in the country?
E) It is sinful to have a house so poorly designed that you need air conditioning in Flagstaff.
F) The 'up front' costs of quality windows, storm doors and insulation will off-set high energy consumption and costs.
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County Plot Plan Specifications
Excerpted from County publication Minimum Building Plans for Coconino County.
Two copies of plans are required. They shall be submitted on uniform sized paper and stapled together. Plans will be returned if they are incomplete. Plans should include the following:

1. Show entire parcel, property lines dimensioned, and street(s) labeled.
2. Location of all structures. Label all structures, show dimensions from structure to property lines and distances between structures.
3. Show utility connection and line direction. Include: (a) Water line material, depth, shut-offs, and back flow device. (b) Sewer line material, depth, and clean-outs. (c) Septic location, leach field and alternate leach field locations. (d) Liquid propane gas tank or natural gas meter and gas line material, depth, shut-offs, and union. (e) Underground L.P. tank - anode for corrosion protection, two stage regulator, vent above flood rim, backfilled with sand.
4. Utility Easements
5. Building height elevations and lot drainage.
6. Retaining wall location. Areas to be filled (fills in excess of 4' shall be engineered).
7. One electric service per residential parcel. (Except for a well)
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County Greywater Irrigation Restrictions
Grey Water is an important resource in this desert state. So long as the greywater is free of E. coli bacteria the county allows its discharge through surface or drip irrigation. Sink and dishwasher water requires disinfection before it can be classified as Gray Water for reuse.
Reprinted from County publication: Residential Gray Water System General Permit, revised 03/01.

Definition of Gray Water: Wastewater, collected separately from a sewage flow that originates from a clothes washer, bathtub, shower, and sink, but does not include wastewater from a kitchen sink, dishwasher or toilet.

A. Type 1 General Permit allows private residential direct reuse of gray water less than 400 gallons per day without notice to the Department if all of the following conditions are met: (A.A.C. R18-9-711)
1. Human contact with gray water and soil irrigated by gray water is avoided;
2. Gray Water originating from the residence is used and contained within the property boundary for household gardening, composting, lawn watering, or landscape irrigation;
3. Surface application of gray water is not used for irrigation of food plants, except for citrus and nut trees;
4. The gray water does not contain hazardous chemicals derived from activities such as cleaning car parts, washing greasy or oily rags, or disposing of waste solutions from the home photo labs or similar hobbyist or home occupational activities;
5. The appliction of gray water is managed to minimize standing water on the surface;
6. The gray water system is constructed so that if blockage, plugging, freezing or back up of the system occurs, gray water can be directed into the sewage collection system or on site wastewater disposal system as applicable. The gray water system may include a means of filtration to reduce plugging and extend system lifetime;
7. Any gray water storage tank is covered to restrict access and to eliminate habitat for mosquitoes or other vectors;
8. The gray water is sited outside of a floodway;
9. The gray water system is operated to maintain a minimum vertical separation distance of at least 5-feet from the point of gray water applicaton to the top of the seasonally high groundwater table;
10. For residences using an on-site wastewater treatment facility for black water treatment and disposal, the use of a gray water system does not change the design, capacity, or reserve area requirements for the on-site wastewater treatment facility at the residence, and ensures that the facility can handle a combined black water and gray water flow if the gray water system fails or is not fully used;
11. Any pressure piping used in a gray water system that may be susceptible to cross connection with a potable water system clearly indicates that the piping does not carry potable water;
12. Gray water applied by surface irrigation does not contain water used to wash diapers of simiolarly soiled or infectous garments unless the gray water is disinfected before irrigation;
13. surface irrigation by gray water is only by flood or drip irrigation.

B. Prohibitions. The following are prohibited:
1. Gray water use for purposes other than irrigation, and
2. Spray irrigation.

C. Towns, cities or counties may further limit the use of gray water discribed in this Section by the rule or ordinance.
If the gray water system does not meet all of these criteria, a Type 1 General Permit is not valid. Prior to construction of a gray water system which does not meet these conditions, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality shall be notified, and an application of a Type 3 General Permit for gray water systems will be required pursuant to A.A.C. R17-7-719.
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