A new sewage plant in Arkansas that violates the Clean Water Act will further pollute Oklahoma’s scenic Illinois River, and sewage from the plant should not be discharged until a scientific study of the watershed is completed, a Tahlequah based conservation organization said in an appeal filed this week.
Over the objections of Save the Illinois River Inc. and the state of Oklahoma, the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality gave permission last month to the Northwest Arkansas Conservation Authority to discharge into Osage Creek, a tributary of the Illinois River.
The plant serves Bentonville and smaller communities that do not currently discharge into the Illinois River watershed. NACA was limited to a phosphorous discharge of one part per million until 2012, when the EPA will require a limit 10 times more protective of water quality.
STIR’s opposition to the NACA Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant centers on phosphorus, a nutrient that degrades water quality and damages aquatic life. While Oklahoma has a limit for phosphorus in scenic rivers like the Illinois River, Arkansas does not, and has refused to list Osage Creek and the Illinois River as impaired waters. However, Arkansas classified both streams as impaired by phosphorus after the EPA objected.
Phosphorus enters water from sewage treatment plants and from “nonpoint sources,” including runoff from fields fertilized with poultry waste. Poultry farms are concentrated in northwest Arkansas and produce millions of tons of manure annually.
STIR President Kurt Robinson of Muskogee said STIR wants a public review and compliance with a TMDL – a study of appropriate limits – before NACA is permitted to discharge waste to the Illinois River watershed. The facility is now under construction.
“The NACA wastewater treatment plant will add approximately 30 pounds of phosphorous daily to streams recognized by the EPA and Oklahoma as already damaged by phosphorus,” said Robinson. “Neither Oklahoma nor Arkansas has conducted required studies to determine how much phosphorus can be added to the streams without causing further impairment. Oklahoma’s phosphorous limit for the Illinois River may be impossible to achieve because of the NACA facility. Tenkiller Lake, one of Oklahoma’s finest water resources, will suffer even further from algae growth if this permit is allowed to stand.”
Robert Kellogg of Oklahoma City, STIR legal counsel, said Arkansas authorities “recycled” a 5-year-old permit for a small facility that was never constructed.
“Bentonville was not included in the 2004 Osage Basin permit, and this plant is not part of a joint Oklahoma and Arkansas compact to limit phosphorus discharges from sewage plants in the Illinois River watershed,” Kellogg said. “Arkansas may say Bentonville was part of the agreement, but we feel the Federal Clean Water Act takes precedent.”
The NACA wastewater plant is designed to treat 3.6 million gallons of sewage daily and has a phosphorus limit of 1 part per million until 2012, when the EPA will require the facility to meet a limit of .1 parts per million. The cities of Fayetteville, Rogers, Springdale, Siloam Springs and Prairie Grove currently discharge treated sewage to the Arkansas portion of the Illinois River watershed. In Oklahoma, Westville and Tahlequah have existing discharge permits to the Illinois River with limits of 1 ppm of phosphorus.
Local News
STIR wants watershed study before new sewage plant opens
- Local News
-
-
What’s on the bun?
Perhaps no other food on the American summer holiday menu epitomizes patriotism more than a good old-fashioned hamburger.
-
Best gifts can be made from scratch
When hand-crafting gifts to honor loved ones or friends, a fellowship can be born.
-
Injury crash provokes felony charge
Prosecutors have charged a Tahlequah man for his alleged role in causing a crash that put another man on life support.
The charges stem from a May 18 crash at the intersection of the State Highway 51 West bypass and Vinita. -
Testimony in Butcher trial centers on evidence
Testimony given throughout the day Thursday in the first-degree murder case against Bronson William Butcher centered mostly on the state’s investigation of the case.
-
Oklahoma City man charged with larceny here
Prosecutors in Cherokee County have charged an Oklahoma City man with grand larceny, second-degree burglary, and larceny of an automobile.
-
Local men’s shelter at risk of closing
Tom Lewis walked through the semi-completed expansion at Project O Si Yo Thursday, pointing out what services could be provided to area homeless men, if only the funding were available.
-
TPS officials eye earlier start times
A handful of Tahlequah Public Schools parents voiced concern Wednesday evening about a potential change in school start-and-stop times for the upcoming year.
-
Food for thought
With representatives from the Oklahoma Farm & Food Alliance, Sustainable Green Country and Cherokee Nation Healthy Nation Division in attendance, the Tahlequah Food Policy Council on Tuesday shared their ideas on establishing sustainable local food sources for retail ventures.
-
Defense attorney: Witness changed his story
The defense counsel for Bronson Butcher on Wednesday targeted eyewitness accounts of a man who claims he saw the accused shoot an Oktaha man at a Tahlequah home in March 2011.
-
TMS Cancer Carnival raises funds
The Tahlequah Middle School Student Council held its 6th Annual Student Council Cancer Carnival Wednesday to raise money for the American Cancer Society.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Raw Video: 19 Dead in Qatar Shopping Mall Fire
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony
Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice
UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
