An association of Arkansas solid waste management districts is considering pursuing legislative changes to give the state's 19 solid waste districts more independence from state environmental regulators, according to the executive director of the Pulaski County regional recycling district.
During a board meeting of Pulaski County's Regional Recycling and Waste Reduction District on Thursday morning, Craig Douglass, the district's executive director, said the state association has been exploring legislative options that would give the districts "a little more independence" from regulators at the Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality.
"DEQ is not opposed to that idea, by the way," Douglass said during the meeting, which was held via videoconference.
However, according to a spokesman for the Department of Energy and Environment, top officials at the agency have not discussed a proposal with solid waste districts.
The solid waste management association is working with a lobbying team hired by the association last year that includes former Arkansas House speakers Robbie Wills and Bill Stovall, Douglass said.
He emphasized that the district "may pursue" these proposals during the 2021 legislative session.
"If we can get the governance structure right and the revenue structure right, then that could very well end up being some proposed legislation," Douglass said.
Following the Pulaski County board meeting Thursday morning, Douglass said he would go to Pine Bluff to attend an association meeting at which the various options would be discussed.
Douglass pledged to keep members of the Pulaski County board informed.
"There'll be no surprises," he said.
He described the Arkansas Association of Regional Solid Waste Management Districts as reinvigorated and more active recently.
It's unclear at this time what the association's proposed changes to state law might look like and how greater autonomy from state environmental regulators would affect the day-to-day operations of the waste management districts.
In an email after the meeting, Douglass said he simply wanted to give the board a heads-up that general "what-if" discussions were taking place.
"Just in preliminary discussions by the various solid waste management districts around the state," Douglass wrote. "Nothing substantive or even decided direction-wise at this time. I'm in an association meeting now, and it's still raw and less than half-baked."
Regulations adopted by the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission give the commission, which serves as the state environmental policy-making panel, and ADEQ, as the Department of Energy and Environment's division tasked with enforcement the authority, to oversee the state's 19 regional solid waste management districts, pursuant to state law.
The Division of Environmental Quality has permitting, inspection and enforcement powers regarding solid waste district landfills and waste hauling, plus collection and processing of used tires and electronic waste, according to Douglass.
When asked about how the legislative options under discussion could alter the current regulatory regime, Douglass wrote, "Not sure yet."
With regard to the potential for legislative changes, Jacob Harper, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment, deferred comment to the solid waste management districts.
When asked if ADEQ Director Becky Keogh or her staff have discussed the subject with the solid waste districts, the association or their representatives, Harper wrote, "Neither the DEQ Director or senior management have discussed or seen a proposal."
Douglass attributed the apparent disconnect to what he described as the preliminary nature of the discussions.
"Some at DEQ have indicated to districts that they didn't 'think' DEQ would be opposed to exploring a more efficient and independent relationship," Douglass wrote in an email Friday. "That, however, is by no means official, because there is no proposal."
Justin Sparrow, head of the Arkansas Association of Regional Solid Waste Management Districts, did not return a request for comment Thursday.