By Associated Press
Montgomery, AL – The state environmental agency has acquired a new plane it's using to look for construction sites, sand and gravel pits, and mining operations that are violating state environmental regulations. The Department of Environmental Management has a ten-year lease-purchase agreement with Maxfly Aviation of Fort Lauderdale, Florida that calls for the state to pay nearly 243-thousand dollars per year. ADEM Director Trey Glenn says other costs will push the total expenses to about 300-thousand dollars annually. But he says the plane is more productive and more efficient than traveling the back roads of Alabama to look for trouble spots. Since the department started flying the plane two months ago, it has found 178 suspicious locations.