The 93rd Arkansas General Assembly convened for regular session on January 11th. The pre-filing of bills and resolutions began on November 16th. Senate.
The CAO provides that RBT owns and operates a rice mill (“Mill”) in Wynne, Arkansas.
DEQ personnel are stated to have conducted a compliance inspection of the Mill on June 26, 2019. The reporting period for the inspection is stated to have covered July 2018 through June 2019.
The CAO provides that at the time of the inspection it was indicated that the Mill had three unpermitted milled grain storage bins. Such bins allegedly violate Specific Condition 16 of the permit.
DEQ is stated to have informed RBT of the alleged violation in a letter dated July 15, 2019. RBT responded in a letter dated July 31, 2019, that the Mill was actively working to include the grain storage permits into the air permit. Further, DEQ is stated to have received an Administrative Amendment Application on August 28, 2019, requesting inclusion of the three bins to the current air permit. DEQ approved the Administrative Amendment in a letter dated September 20, 2019.
The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment – Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) and Warren Water and Sewer (“Warren”) entered into a December 17th Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressing alleged violations of a Clean Water Act National Pollution Discharge Elimination (“NPDES”) permit. See LIS No. 20-199.
Warren is stated to operate a municipal wastewater treatment facility (“Facility”) in Bradley County, Arkansas.
The Facility is stated to discharge treated wastewater to the Saline River. Such discharge is stated to be authorized pursuant to an NPDES permit.
Warren is stated to have submitted a sludge removal plan and detention time calculations to DEQ on March 30, 2018, in accordance with its NPDES permit. DEQ subsequently sent Warren a request for a Corrective Action Plan (“CAP”) to address effluent violations.
The pre-filing of bills and resolutions began on November 16th.
House Bill 1261 (“HB 1261”) was introduced on January 25th which would authorize the Arkansas Water Control Agency (i.e., Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment – Division of Environmental Quality [“DEQ”]) to seek and accept delegation of the Section 404 Clean Water Act program.
The legislation is sponsored by Representative Ladyman of Jonesboro.
The bill would add an additional subdivision to Arkansas Code § 8-4-207(1) referencing the state water pollution control agency that would provide the DEQ Director authorization to:
. . . require conditions in permits issued under this chapter regarding the dredge and fill permitting program established in Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq. and regulations promulgated under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act . . .
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The Legislature will be considering merging the state Health Department with the Department of Human Services.
Rep. Robin Weisz (R-Hurdsfield) is the main sponsor of that bill. Weisz said this has been talked about for a number of years. And he said after the Division of Environmental Quality was moved out of the Health Department, and became its own agency, it seems a good time to make this move. It s not like we re trying to make a super-agency, Weisz said in an interview.
Weisz said with around 200 employees, the Health Department is about one-tenth the size of Human Services. He said he believes a merger could lead to some efficiencies.