Arkansas regulators addressing diesel spill caused by storms; new water quality standards approved
Shane Khoury (left), secretary of the Department of Energy and Environment, and Bailey Taylor (right), director of the Division of Environmental Quality, are pictured at a legislative committee meeting on April 7, 2025. (Ainsley Platt/Arkansas Advocate)
Arkansas environmental regulators updated the state Pollution Control and Ecology Commission last week on efforts to help storm-stricken areas of the state recover from multiple rounds of severe weather.
The commission also gave final approval to state water quality standards that address surface water pollutants and are up for review.
Bailey Taylor, director of the Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality, said the agency issued an emergency order to address a large spill of red dye diesel in Craighead County. The tanks storing the fuel were severely damaged after being struck by one of the many tornadoes that have touched down in the state over the last month and a half, Taylor said.
The emergency order, which was posted on DEQ's website, said the fuel leaked into ditches that 'flowed through a nearby residential area and near the Monette Manor nursing home,' with the potential to reach the St. Francis River. The order noted that heavy concentrations of the diesel were seen in the ditches by a government inspector who visited the site.
'Given the extent of the storm impact and damage, imminent heavy rainfall and the forecast for additional severe weather and heavy flooding in the area, it was apparent that immediate action was required to protect human health and safety as well as to mitigate further impact to waters of the state including the St. Francis River,' the emergency order read.
Taylor said she ordered remediation contractors to the site, and authorized use of funds from the Remedial Action Trust Fund to address the spill if it was necessary to protect public health, safety or the environment on April 3.
Additionally, DEQ staff has been working with local and county officials to set up debris burn sites for trees and other plants, Taylor said, and has been doing additional outreach to areas not impacted by recent storms to plan where a burn site could be, should those communities be affected by storms in the future.
Taylor also updated commissioners on legislative activity, saying that 12 bills proposed by the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment had been signed into law, most of them bills aimed at cleaning up language in existing law.
Later, commissioners voted to give final approval to Rule 2, which governs the state's water quality standards and is going through a federally-mandated triennial review. The rule will now go to the Arkansas Legislative Council's rules committee, and then to the council itself, for review.
Rule 2 water quality standards apply to the concentrations of pollutants in surface waters themselves, such as lakes and rivers, rather than the concentrations of pollutants in discharges from permitted facilities. They are also separate from drinking water regulations, which rely on a different set of rules and laws at both the federal and state level, and are regulated by the Arkansas Department of Health rather than DEQ.
The changes proposed by DEQ to Rule 2 include the addition of five new regulated pollutants: benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene and phenol. Two of those — benzene and ethylbenzene — are known or suspected carcinogens, respectively. The other three are known to have other detrimental health effects in humans in sufficient concentrations.
In documentation included with the rulemaking, DEQ said the new water quality standards were necessary to protect human health.
In addition to the new standards, DEQ is also proposing updates to existing ammonia and chromium standards.
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Boston Globe
30-05-2025
- Boston Globe
Nick Taylor makes it look easy in the rain and shares the lead at Memorial
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San Francisco Chronicle
30-05-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
Nick Taylor makes it look easy in the rain and shares the lead at Memorial
DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — Nick Taylor brought his best golf on a day that required no less at the Memorial. He putted for birdie on all but one hole Friday, somehow kept bogeys off his card and had a 4-under 68 that gave him a share of the lead with Ben Griffin. Taylor faced the worst of the weather, a rain that wouldn't quit, and the Canadian leaned on his college days as a Washington Huskie. He doesn't like these conditions, but he's knows them. Most impressive was keeping the stress at a minimum. 'It was a clean card, which was not necessarily what I expected,' Taylor said. 'But it was nice to keep it as simple as possible.' Griffin caught a slight break in the afternoon when the rain relented and Muirfield Village was soft. He had 16 pars, a birdie and a bogey for a 72 that put him at 7-under 137 with Taylor. Akshay Bhatia (69) was two shots behind, followed by defending champion Scottie Scheffler. The world's No. 1 player always seems to be lurking, and his 70 was probably as high as he could have shot the way he was hitting the ball in the rain. Scheffler missed a trio of birdie chances inside 10 feet on the front nine, hit wedge into the water on the 14th for bogey but otherwise was never too far away. 'Really a lot of good ball striking on the front nine to get me a good score there,' he said. It was the highest 36-hole score to lead the Memorial since 2012. The rain was merely a nuisance that added to what already is a difficult test with rough that players feel will get them prepared for the U.S. Open in two weeks at Oakmont. 'The rough is almost second-to-none, at least for a 'regular' tour event,' Taylor said. "Torrey Pines was pretty thick this year. Bay Hill is always thick. But it seems to be just a little bit thicker here, playing that much more difficult. 'You can catch a break here or there, but you just got to be in the fairway." Taylor showed that keeping the ball in play and hitting good irons could go a long way, and he wasn't alone. Sam Burns played in the tougher morning conditions and shot 65 — 11 shots better than his opening round — to get within four of the lead. Justin Rose holed out from the fairway on No. 3 for eagle and made six birdies on the back. It added to a 66 — 12 shots better than Thursday — to get him back to even par. The drama came at the cut line. Because this is a player-hosted signature event — Jack Nicklaus in this case — there was a 36-hole cut to the top 50 and ties. It moved all the way down to 5-over 149, and that remarkably includes Hideki Matsuyama. The Japanese star birdied the 17th and needed par on the 18th to get to the weekend. He hooked his drive so badly on the final hole that it cleared the stream running down the left side of the fairway. From mangled rough, he belted it up toward the green and got up-and-down. When it comes to all-world pars, Jordan Spieth always seems to enter the conversation. Spieth pulled his tee shot on the par-5 11th inside the hazard line, just above the creek. He removed his socks and shoes and rolled his pants up to his knees to try to hack it out. And then he picked up the ball and took a penalty drop. This wasn't a long discussion. 'The creek's too deep so I couldn't actually stand in the water,' Spieth said. 'Also, I could reach the green (by taking a drop on shorter grass), which was a big reason why I took a drop.' If only it were that simple. He sent his 3-wood well to the right, clattering around trees and landing in more rough. But the lie was decent, and he managed to hit a flop shot over the bunkers and onto the green, rolling out to 4 feet for a par save. There was more to his round. Spieth birdied three of the last four holes. for a 69 and suddenly finds himself right in the mix, four shots out of the lead. Only 11 players remained under par. That included Collin Morikawa, who was tied for the lead through six holes and was done in on the par 5s. He played them in 3 over, including taking five shots from 50 feet away from the hole. The rough at Muirfield can make anyone look silly. Morikawa saved par on the 18th from a bunker for a 75 and was in the group at 2-under 142 that included Xander Schauffele, who started his day with a double bogey and finished it with four birdies on his last five holes. ___
NBC Sports
30-05-2025
- NBC Sports
Nick Taylor makes it look easy in the rain, shares Memorial lead with Ben Griffin
DUBLIN, Ohio — Nick Taylor brought his best golf on a day that required no less at the Memorial. He putted for birdie on all but one hole Friday, somehow kept bogeys off his card and had a 4-under 68 that gave him a share of the lead with Ben Griffin. Taylor faced the worst of the weather, a rain that wouldn't quit, and the Canadian leaned on his college days as a Washington Huskie. He doesn't like these conditions, but he's knows them. Most impressive was keeping the stress at a minimum. 'It was a clean card, which was not necessarily what I expected,' Taylor said. 'But it was nice to keep it as simple as possible.' Griffin caught a slight break in the afternoon when the rain relented and Muirfield Village was soft. He had 16 pars, a birdie and a bogey for a 72 that put him at 7-under 137 with Taylor. Akshay Bhatia (69) was two shots behind, followed by defending champion Scottie Scheffler. The world's No. 1 player always seems to be lurking, and his 70 was probably as high as he could have shot the way he was hitting the ball in the rain. Scheffler missed a trio of birdie chances inside 10 feet on the front nine, hit wedge into the water on the 14th for bogey but otherwise was never too far away. 'Really a lot of good ball striking on the front nine to get me a good score there,' he said. It was the highest 36-hole score to lead the Memorial since 2012. The rain was merely a nuisance that added to what already is a difficult test with rough that players feel will get them prepared for the U.S. Open in two weeks at Oakmont. 'The rough is almost second-to-none, at least for a 'regular' tour event,' Taylor said. 'Torrey Pines was pretty thick this year. Bay Hill is always thick. But it seems to be just a little bit thicker here, playing that much more difficult. 'You can catch a break here or there, but you just got to be in the fairway.' Taylor showed that keeping the ball in play and hitting good irons could go a long way, and he wasn't alone. Sam Burns played in the tougher morning conditions and shot 65 — 11 shots better than his opening round — to get within four of the lead. Justin Rose holed out from the fairway on No. 3 for eagle and made six birdies on the back. It added to a 66 — 12 shots better than Thursday — to get him back to even par. The drama came at the cut line. Because this is a player-hosted signature event — Jack Nicklaus in this case — there was a 36-hole cut to the top 50 and ties. It moved all the way down to 5-over 149, and that remarkably includes Hideki Matsuyama. The Japanese star birdied the 17th and needed par on the 18th to get to the weekend. He hooked his drive so badly on the final hole that it cleared the stream running down the left side of the fairway. From mangled rough, he belted it up toward the green and got up-and-down. When it comes to all-world pars, Jordan Spieth always seems to enter the conversation . Spieth pulled his tee shot on the par-5 11th inside the hazard line, just above the creek. He removed his socks and shoes and rolled his pants up to his knees to try to hack it out. And then he picked up the ball and took a penalty drop. This wasn't a long discussion. 'The creek's too deep so I couldn't actually stand in the water,' Spieth said. 'Also, I could reach the green (by taking a drop on shorter grass), which was a big reason why I took a drop.' If only it were that simple. He sent his 3-wood well to the right, clattering around trees and landing in more rough. But the lie was decent, and he managed to hit a flop shot over the bunkers and onto the green, rolling out to 4 feet for a par save. There was more to his round. Spieth birdied three of the last four holes. for a 69 and suddenly finds himself right in the mix, four shots out of the lead. Only 11 players remained under par. That included Collin Morikawa, who was tied for the lead through six holes and was done in on the par 5s. He played them in 3 over, including taking five shots from 50 feet away from the hole. The rough at Muirfield can make anyone look silly. Morikawa saved par on the 18th from a bunker for a 75 and was in the group at 2-under 142 that included Xander Schauffele, who started his day with a double bogey and finished it with four birdies on his last five holes.
