Recycling district taking more items
The Regional Recycling and Waste Reduction District has revamped its Green Stations, which will now recycle more types of waste, according to district director Craig Douglass.
Traditionally accepting only electronics, the stations will now accept aerosol cans, pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides, antifreeze, gasoline and oil.
The district also has added fans, new eye-wash stations, training and procedures, among other things, to enhance "internal safety," Douglass said.
The stations are located in five different Pulaski County cities and are open part of each week. The hours and locations can be found under "special recycling" at regionalrecycling.org.
Panel calls to end permit from agency
The Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission approved with no dissent starting the process to eliminate a permit issued by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.
The permit, for certain oil and gas disposal wells, is duplicative of a permit already issued by the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission, said Caleb Osborne, associate director at the Department of Environmental Quality in charge of the water division.
The regulation that would be changed concerns pollution-prevention for wastes produced by saltwater and oil field wells.
The process would update definitions, change the name of the program, make typographical changes and eliminate the second permit for owners of disposal wells that are not high-volume or commercial disposal.
Fewer than 100 of the 525 permitted wells fit that bill, according to supporting documents filed with the petition. The wells would save $250 per year in permit fees and would be subject only to the permitting program authorized under Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission regulations.
The commission, which is the appellate and rule-making body for the department, approved starting the regulation-change process after little discussion.
Commission urged to protect turtles
More than two dozen scientists sent a letter to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission last week urging the commission to ban commercial turtle trapping in Arkansas.
In the letter, 28 scientists from across the South and other parts of the United States say the freshwater turtle population cannot rebound from a commercial harvest.
"The science shows that Arkansas' turtle trapping regulations need to be amended to prevent turtle declines," the letter said.
The Center for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Club's Arkansas chapter, Arkansas Water Trails Partnership, Audubon Society of Central Arkansas, Environmental Resources Center, Kory Roberts and biologist John Kelly have petitioned the commission for the ban.
Arkansas allows people to trap 14 types of turtles for commercial use.
The number of wild turtles caught and purchased varies widely each year.
Metro on 06/24/2018