Column By Scott F. Davis
Actions Speak Louder than Words
Thursday, May 09, 2002
The Morning News/NWAonline.net
Gov. Mike Huckabee says he does not want a war over water with Oklahoma, but in this case his actions speak louder than his words.
Huckabee also said last month at a water conference in Springdale that he wants "sound science, not sound bites" for water-quality standards.
Huckabee brought in the big guns for this conference to help him fire off some of his own sound bites, designed to appease poultry and utility officials.
The conference was announced soon after the release of a new study showing that the Springdale wastewater treatment plant and the region's poultry industry
were most affecting the Illinois River.
The timing and location of the event seemed like a political rally to offer support for those accused of contributing to the problem.
Neither the governor nor his support team offered ideas or specific proposals for improving water quality. They simply ridiculed the efforts by Oklahoma to
force Arkansas to clean up the river as its leaves the state and flows into Oklahoma.
It was the same old spin. The standards are too stringent. They are not based on sound science. We are committed to water quality, etc.
Oklahoma officials spent more than a decade fighting to prevent Fayetteville from discharging half of its wastewater effluent into the Illinois River. The
U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1992 that the city can discharge into the river, but that Arkansas can be required to meet Oklahoma's water-quality standards.
Oklahoma's current narrative standard has been ineffective in preventing the nutrient loads from increasing significantly in recent years, so officials
there decided to adopt a numerical standard to force efforts in this state to improve water quality. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is pushing the
states to adopt numerical standards, and officials there reportedly plan to approve the pristine level proposed by Oklahoma.
The real rub with Oklahoma is that the 40 percent reduction in phosphorus agreed upon between the states and measured since 1996 has not happened; instead,
the problem is getting worse. Oklahoma officials say the water-quality problem can be addressed only by changing "business as usual" on this side of the
line.
Huckabee claimed that Northwest Arkansas residents are being treated like lab rats in an experiment not based on sound science -- a sound bite sure to
irritate our neighbors to the west. The predictable Oklahoma response is that they are being treated like sewer rats, left to swim in our wastewater
discharge and animal waste.
Under questioning, Huckabee repeated his threat to impose standards on the Arkansas and Red rivers to target discharges of chloride from the petrochemical
industry -- an obvious retaliatory move.
Richard Weiss, then director of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, and Chuck Bennett, the division chief of water quality for ADEQ, flanked
the governor's right side, saying that the standard of .037 parts per million in phosphorus proposed by Oklahoma is unrealistic and unattainable. Neither
offered a better number.
Randy Young, director of the Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation Commission, and Earl Smith, the chief of Water Resources Management Division of the
Commission, covered the governor's left side, saying that the agency has funded programs and staff positions designed to reduce non-point sources of water
pollution.
Listening to officials tell what a great job they are doing to preserve and protect water quality, it was hard to keep in mind that empirical evidence shows
water quality is declining.
Most of the 90 people at the conference have dedicated their professional careers to improving water quality. They really have made a difference, but most
of them realize that much more must be done or the problem will only get worse.
A few key poultry officials were pleased to hear the governor say that the industry is getting a bad rap and complain about "unfair finger-pointing" at
animal waste.
The governor's plea for "more science" translates into asking for more time before doing anything differently. Oklahoma officials say that now is the time
to take action, not to complain and stall. The new standard includes a 10-year time frame, but progress requires effort.
Oklahoma officials are frustrated by the tone of the conference and are asking what measures, if any, Arkansas is willing to implement to improve water
quality.
Fayetteville officials have established a productive dialogue with Oklahoma officials and effectively made their case that they are doing their part to minimize its impact on the river using advanced treatment for phosphorus removal. The same type of leadership and genuine effort is needed from state officials, but it was not evident at the conference.
One very important point from the conference is that the White River, and therefore Beaver Lake, is also threatened by high nutrient levels comparable to those in the Illinois River. This seems like a good reason to take some type of meaningful action without delay.
The poultry industry is very important to the economy of Northwest Arkansas and the state. Improving water quality for future generations is also important. There is no reason that we can't have both -- if we are willing to make the effort and commitment.
The water problems did not happen overnight and cannot be fixed quickly, but actions speak louder than words when it come to water quality. Sound bites don't help.