A bill that eased some requirements for rural wastewater treatment plants to receive permits has been incorporated into a proposed Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality regulation change.
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The Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission on Friday approved starting the rule-making process to encode Act 575 of 2015 into the department's water rules, known as R̶e̶g̶u̶l̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶2̶ Regulation 6*. The rule-making was approved on a voice vote with no one opposed.
Act 575, which repeals the financial assurance requirements of wastewater treatment plants, was sponsored by state Rep. Andy Davis, R-Little Rock, who sells and operates wastewater treatment plants as the owner of New Water Systems.
Davis has said the law doesn't change anything except to repeal cumbersome requirements. But opponents of some proposed privately owned wastewater treatment plants in central Arkansas are concerned the law will hamper improvements to any plant in violation of environmental regulations.
Requiring financial assurance meant that a wastewater-plant operator needed a bond or a letter of credit assuring the state Department of Environmental Quality that it had a way of financing major improvements if needed.
A letter of credit documented that an operator had a certain amount of money -- enough to operate for five years -- in the bank. For many operators, that was tens of thousands of dollars. A bond would require a smaller amount but a financial institution to agree to ensure the rest of any additional funds.
The 2015 law repealed those requirements for existing and new treatment plants installed in unincorporated areas and instead requires them to pay up to $1,000 annually, if they discharge wastewater, into a trust fund that would be capped at $2.1 million. The law applies to all existing and new applicable wastewater plants.
At the Pollution Control and Ecology Commission meeting Friday, Department of Environmental Quality Director Becky Keogh said wastewater infrastructure is a challenge in Arkansas and that about 50 percent of the nonmunicipal wastewater treatment plants -- such as those operated by Davis' company -- have had compliance issues with the department.
She added that the trust fund, which had a $36,745 balance in July, is growing at a "slow rate."
Commissioner Ann Henry said the problems posed by wastewater treatment plants extend throughout the state, noting problems with a plant in West Fork leaking into the White River. She said that plant would close as the city connects to the Fayetteville water system and levies a tax.
Henry motioned to hold a public hearing in Springdale over the regulation change, in addition to the one already planned for Little Rock, later this year. Commissioners approved the motion on a voice vote with no one opposed.
In central Arkansas, groups have opposed two proposed rural wastewater treatment plants just outside Little Rock and one proposed plant just outside Conway out of fear they will pollute local waterways because of the frequency of violations by wastewater treatment plant operators.
One plant that would drain into Nowlin Creek just outside Little Rock was denied by the city planning commission, which has jurisdiction over the land three miles outside of city limits.
Davis was set to be the operator of another wastewater treatment plant -- for the Trails subdivision outside Little Rock -- but withdrew after opponents began raising issues over the law. Plans for the Trails subdivision already had been pulled before the city, and no decision has been made on the plant by the Department of Environmental Quality.
Another plant proposed for the Woodsland Edge subdivision just outside of Conway has been approved for a permit by the department, but developers are seeking an arrangement with Conway Corp., which operates the city's wastewater system, to connect to the municipal line, which would discharge treated wastewater into the Arkansas River instead of Lake Conway.
"Locally it's becoming apparent that as these communities become more dense in the rural areas," Keogh said. "They need something besides the traditional septic systems which are the traditional rural solution. But we know as we get quite a bit of density in some of these rural communities, it's a much bigger task to make sure we can protect those streams."
"It's not likely all will get connected to city systems," Keogh added, calling Woodsland Edge lucky if it can work out an arrangement with Conway Corp.
The proposed changes to the department's regulation will go out for public comment and then go to the state Legislature for approval before being formally adopted by the Pollution Control and Ecology Commission.
Metro on 08/27/2016
*CORRECTION: Act 575 of 2015 amends the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality’s Regulation 6, which covers National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Systems. This article identified the incorrect regulation.