The Arkansas Department of Energy & Environment – Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (Memphis District) (“Corps”) entered into a January 24th Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressing alleged violations of a Clean Water Act National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) permit. See LIS No. 22-008.
The CAO provides that the Corps operates a sanitary wastewater treatment facility (“Facility”) in Lee County, Arkansas.
The Facility is affiliated with the W.G. Huxtable Pumping Plant. It discharges treated wastewater into the St. Francis River. This is permitted by an NPDES permit.
According to DEQ, the Facility was inspected by reconnaissance on December 3, 2021. These alleged violations were documented during the inspection:
- The Corps is releasing process water from oilwater separators into treatment lagoon. The current Permit does not authorize Respondent to use oilwater separators as a source to discharge process water and wastewater into the lagoon.
- The lagoon was operating as a single cell lagoon rather than a double-cell lagoon. The lagoon’s levee was six feet below the water level. It was intended to create two separate cells. In violation of Ark. Part III, Section B, Condition 1.A, the Permit, is the failure to maintain the lagoon in a proper state. Code Ann. § 8-4-217(a)(3).
DEQ provided inspection results to the Corps, to which a reply was submitted. The Corps also agreed to have wastewater pumped from lagoon to restore two-cell operation. Such work (according to the Corps’ contract) was to be completed on or before December 11, 2021. The Corps claims to have modified the wastewater removal contract, extending the completion date to January 28, 20,22.
The CAO requires that the Corps submit to DEQ, for review and approval, on or before February 28, a memorandum notification signed in Arkansas by a licensed Professional Engineer. The notification must indicate the methods used in correcting the violations listed under the Findings of Fact Paragraph 11.b. It must also indicate what corrective actions will be taken in order to prevent future violations.
Arkansas Professional Engineers must submit a certificate of compliance on or prior to February 28th. It states that corrective actions were taken and that the facility is in compliance with the NPDES permits.
The Corps also agreed to restore the two-cell operation and take any other corrective measures necessary to comply with the NPDES permit before February 28th.
You can download a copy of the CAO Here.