Discussions Less Tense Than Day Before On Poultry Issues

By Scott F. Davis

The Morning News/NWAonline.net • sdavis@nwaonline.net

FAYETTEVILLE -- Northwest Arkansas utility officials are willing to clean up their dirty water, but they are concerned that proposed total limits could stifle growth or make treatment cost-prohibitive in the future.

The high-level, behind-closed-door talks among Arkansas and Oklahoma state-agency officials continued Thursday, as the focus turned to the discharges from municipal wastewater-treatment plants. The atmosphere was not as tense as the day before, officials said.

About 50 officials of Arkansas and Oklahoma state agencies, poultry companies and others met Wednesday at the Clarion Inn, but they could not agree on a common method of determining application rates for poultry litter. Participants said there were some "tense moments" during the meeting and that there was "some firm entrenchment" on both sides concerning application rates for litter.

Officials of both states said Thursday's meeting was productive, allowing officials to address their concerns about the issues. However, more information is needed to fill "data gaps" before deciding whether proposals to improve water quality can move forward.

"The meeting helped us galvanize the questions and the unknowns," said Derek Smithee, the chief of water standards for the Oklahoma Water Resources Board.

Oklahoma officials want utilities to provide projections of wastewater flows. They also want time to develop projections of future nutrient levels, based on proposals put forth by Arkansas officials, before deciding whether these are acceptable, officials said. Arkansas officials want more detailed information on proposed "load limits" into the Illinois River watershed.

Rene Langston, the executive director of the Springdale Water Utility, said that the major dischargers -- Springdale, Fayetteville, Rogers and Siloam Springs -- have all offered timetables for planned improvement that will reduce their phosphorus discharges to 1 part per million.

The big question on the proposed 1 ppm discharge level is whether it applies to current, past or future discharge levels and whether it includes a "cap" on total amounts allowed for each utility, Langston said.

Northwest Arkansas has experienced "phenomenal growth" over the past decade, so utility officials must plan for this in the future, he explained. If the cities agree to a 1 ppm level that includes a cap based on current flow levels, the cities would be forced to further reduce nutrient levels in discharge to stay under the cap, as growth continues.

Fayetteville public-works director Greg Boettcher said that, even though the city is doing a great job with its effluent, "we don't want to impose an artificial throttle (on growth) by agreeing to caps on total nutrient levels."

As additional treatment is required, this means more costs to utility customers, he said.

"Everyone is looking for common ground," he said. "Reasonable people have to prevail and find that middle ground," he said.

Fayetteville is the only Northwest Arkansas city required to hold its phosphorous under 1 part per million as part of its wastewater-discharge permit. Rogers officials say that their plant typically meets or discharges below 1 ppm, but it is not required in its permit. However, Springdale averages 6 ppm and Siloam Springs just under 3 ppm, according to utility officials.

No specific timetable has been agreed upon for the cities to meet the lower levels, but utilities have offered schedules ranging from five to seven years, officials said.

Lincoln, Prairie Grove and Gentry --all represented at Thursday's meeting -- also discharge into the Illinois River basin, but they may not be required to make improve their plants as quickly as the larger cities, officials said.

Oklahoma has adopted an in-stream, numeric standard on phosphorus of 0.037 parts per million for its scenic rivers, including the Illinois. Led by Gov. Mike Huckabee, Arkansas officials have called this limit unrealistic and unattainable.

High levels of phosphorus promote excessive algae growth, reduce oxygen levels in waterways and crowd out types of aquatic life. A 1992 Supreme Court ruling found that an upstream state can be required to meet at the state line the water-quality standards of a downstream state.

The office of Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson must review the state's new standards before forwarding them to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for final approval. Randy Young, director of the Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation Commission, said that he is hopeful that Edmondson will continue to hold off on submitting these to the EPA as talks continue.

A spokesman for Edmondson's office said that they are pleased that talks are continuing and, as previously agreed, will hold off on filing any litigation as long as productive talks continue.

The goal of a series of meetings on these issues is to develop a written agreement -- probably a consent decree -- signed by the parties so that the agreement will be binding and enforceable. This document has not yet been developed, but Young said that he hopes attorneys can move forward on a draft, following this week's meetings.

"We're still making some strides toward reaching an agreement," sad J.D. Strong, a spokesman for Brian Griffin, Oklahoma's Secretary of the Environment.

The next scheduled talks including ADEQ director Marcus Devine and Griffin are in early September.

In other developments:

• Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality officials planned a 10-minute presentation of water-quality data Wednesday, but it was canceled after an Oklahoma official objected, saying they were unprepared to present their own data and that this was not on the agenda.

• Young said that Arkansas is proposing regulations in both states that would regulate the application of commercial fertilizer, which some scientists believe causes a great impact on water quality because it contains more water-soluble phosphorus than organic fertilizers such as poultry litter.