2/1/10

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AGREEMENT REACHED ON ARKANSAS SEWAGE PERMIT

TAHLEQUAH—An agreement between Arkansas and Oklahoma groups clears the way for operation of a regional wastewater treatment facility in the Illinois River watershed in Arkansas. Under the pact signed today, Save the Illinois River, Inc. (STIR) will dismiss its appeal of a discharge permit for the Northwest Arkansas Conservation Authority (NACA) wastewater plant serving Bentonville and Tontitown, Arkansas. In return, NACA has committed to operating the facility in a manner that is significantly more protective of the Illinois River watershed.

The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality approved an EPA-mandated permit allowing NACA to discharge phosphorus at a level of one-mg/L until mid-2012. At that time, a more stringent limit of point-one mg/L might have been required. STIR opposed the permit because it feared the Illinois River and Tenkiller Lake would be further impaired by phosphorus, a nutrient that degrades water quality and promotes the growth of algae. STIR wanted the permit held until an EPA Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study of Illinois River pollutants is completed. That study is about to begin with cooperation from both states.

NACA Executive Director John Sampier and STIR President Kurt Robinson said the agreement hopefully signals a new willingness to cooperate on contentious issues related to watershed protection.

“STIR and NACA agree that it is important to protect the water quality in the Illinois River watershed and recognize that a number of important decisions will be made in the next few years that involve water quality, economic development, and quality of life in the Illinois River watershed,” Sampier and Robinson said in their joint statement. “STIR and NACA hope that this will serve as a positive example and a productive initial step for resolving issues in the future regarding the Illinois River watershed.”

At a meeting last week in Tahlequah, NACA representatives assured Robinson that it is committed to achieving a phosphorus discharge level of point-one mg/L or less when it begins operation in October and that it would not change to a less protective limit even if permitted. Those attending the meeting in addition to Sampier and Robinson were NACA Counsel Allan Gates, Project Engineer Steve Yonker, STIR Counsel Robert Kellogg, STIR Secretary-Treasurer Ed Brocksmith, and Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission Administrator Ed Fite.

“NACA’s representatives affirmed that NACA is committed to operating the wastewater treatment facility, including the Advanced Filtration System, in accordance with its design from and after the date of the initial start-up without regard to any higher permit limit that NACA may receive for phosphorus in its discharge,” the agreement states.

STIR’s Robinson said NACA’s commitment is very reassuring.

“STIR commends NACA for making the investment to construct an Advanced Filtration System that exceeds the immediate requirements of its NPDES Operating Permit and NACA’s commitment to operate the system from the outset in accordance with its advanced design,” Robinson said. “In light of NACA’s actions and its commitment to operate the facility from the outset in accordance with its design, STIR has decided to dismiss with prejudice its appeal of the NACA operating permit,” Robinson said.

Save the Illinois River is a Tahlequah-based citizen’s coalition begun in 1984 with the mission to protect and preserve the Illinois River, its tributaries, and Tenkiller Lake.

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