Latest news with #DepartmentofEnergyandEnvironment
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
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.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Four takeaways from the final workweek of the Arkansas 95th General Assembly
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The final working week of the 95th General Assembly of the Arkansas legislature ended on Wednesday. Legislators are due back in town on May 5 to take care of any last-minute business generated by the session and formally adjourn. In the meantime, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has been signing hundreds of bills passed into law during this legislative session. New Arkansas law mandates a capital charge for rape of someone under 13 The new laws include: TEN COMMANDMENTS Arkansas law now mandates that 'In God We Trust' and the Ten Commandments be displayed in Arkansas classrooms and public buildings. Funds for the posters displaying the two items will come from donations or donations of the posters themselves. RAPE PENALTIES Arkansas now has a criminal code that permits the death penalty for those found guilty of the rape of a minor under 13. The law includes certain exceptions, such as life with eligibility for parole if the offender is under 18. FELONS Three bills signed into law this week intend to ease the transition of a felon back into Arkansas society. Senate Bill 537 provides for those on parole to earn time credits by working at a job. Senate Bill 485 and House Bill 1931 call for a robust program focusing on rehabilitating inmates 'upon the first day of incarceration' through a combination of programs, education, and reentry services within the Department of Corrections. Pair of bills intend to reduce Arkansas recidivism rate through prison training & education programs NUCLEAR POWER When House Bill 1572 was signed into law, it mandated a feasibility study on implementing nuclear energy in Arkansas. Because of the bill's emergency clause, the Department of Energy and Environment has 60 days to engage with an outside consulting firm to begin the study, with a written report delivered by July 2026. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Officials issue urgent warning about health risks of eating area's local fish — and the risks are greater than expected
If you enjoy fishing in the Potomac or Anacostia rivers, you may want to think twice before cooking up and eating your catch. Officials in the capital have issued a new fish consumption advisory due to high levels of PFAS. These contaminants have been linked to serious health risks, raising concerns about their growing presence in the local food chains. The District of Columbia's Department of Energy and Environment has issued its first-ever fish consumption advisory based on PFAS contamination — synthetic substances often called "forever chemicals" because they don't break down in the environment. These chemicals, along with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and heavy metals, were detected in fish tissue from the Potomac and Anacostia rivers. The advisory urges residents to avoid eating eel, carp, striped bass, and largemouth bass entirely. Other species, including catfish, perch, and sunfish, should only be consumed in limited amounts. While this warning applies only to fish caught in local waters — not those sold in grocery stores or restaurants — it does highlight growing concerns about water pollution and public health. PFAS are used in everyday items like nonstick cookware and waterproof fabrics, and once they enter waterways, they accumulate in fish and people. Long-term exposure has been linked to cancer, liver disease, hormone disruption, and weakened immune function. Because these chemicals are so persistent, they're difficult to clean up. The EPA has set drinking water limits for PFAS, but fish consumption guidelines remain unclear, leaving local governments to set their own standards. Without clear federal regulations, people may be unknowingly exposed to unsafe levels of these contaminants. The EPA is working on stricter regulations for PFAS in food and water, but progress has been slow, and reported plans for staffing reductions at the agency may only compound that. Some states, like Maine and Michigan, have moved forward with their own regulations to monitor and reduce contamination. Individuals can take steps to limit exposure by checking fish advisories before eating wild-caught fish and using water filters that reduce PFAS. Avoiding nonstick cookware and stain-resistant products can also help minimize everyday exposure. How often do you worry about the quality of your drinking water? Never Sometimes Often Always Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Arkansas' Buffalo River watershed squabble a ‘long, hard battle,' advocate says
A person paddles a canoe on the Buffalo River as trees display fall colors. (Photo courtesy of National Park Service) Marti Olesen has now driven the five-hour round trip from Ponca to Little Rock three times in recent weeks with the intention to learn about lawmakers' plans for the Buffalo River watershed. Once when the Arkansas Department of Agriculture and the Department of Energy and Environment brought a pair of rules regarding permit moratoriums through the promulgation process to a legislative committee meeting. And twice during the 95th General Assembly when she expected Sen. Blake Johnson, R-Corning, to introduce Senate Bill 84 to the Senate Agriculture Committee. Lawmakers have yet to consider the bill during the current session. SB 84 would prohibit a state agency — not limited to the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Energy and Environment — from instituting a moratorium on the issuance of permits in a watershed, including the Buffalo River watershed. 'My personal interest is that [the Buffalo River] is a national park, and it belongs to the people in America, as well as to every resident in Arkansas, and we should all have access to a free and clear river because that's why it was made a national park,' said Olesen, the 73-year-old vice president of the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance. Olesen, who rose before dawn to make what she described as an expensive trip south, was one of many packed into a small Senate committee room in the Arkansas Capitol Tuesday morning in anticipation of discussing SB 84. Sponsored by Johnson and Rep. DeAnn Vaught, R-Horatio, SB 84 would make all existing permit moratoriums unenforceable upon its passage and any future moratoriums subject to approval from the Legislative Council, the body that meets when the full legislature is not in session. Johnson didn't show Tuesday morning to run his bill because he was serving as the chair of a separate committee, he told the Advocate. 'That's just part of the process,' Johnson said of his bill not being discussed. 'It goes on the regular agenda … I was still working on the amendment and that process.' Johnson said Tuesday afternoon that he didn't know when the bill would be introduced in the agriculture committee, and he said he wasn't in a position to say what he was changing about the existing language. In 2023, the Legislature passed Act 824, also sponsored by Vaught and Johnson, which gave the Department of Agriculture regulatory authority over large livestock farms, commonly known as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). The Department of Energy and Environment previously held that authority. Because of Act 824 of 2023, state agricultural leadership promulgated a rule that would have placed a permanent moratorium on swine CAFOs in the Buffalo River watershed. It would have also limited the required public notice of new permit applications for livestock and poultry farms to the department's website. Another rule, from the Department of Energy and Environment, would have also placed a moratorium on hog farms in the area, but its application would have been specific to waste disposal permits that regulate pollution sent directly into waterways. On Tuesday, Olesen described the situation thus far as a 'long, hard battle,' and she hopes for a moratorium on medium and large CAFOs in the Buffalo River watershed. 'Everyone would miss the beauty of the river and being able to use the river to seek peace and quiet,' she said. 'You don't know what is lost until it is gone, as Joni Mitchell said.' Olesen is a retired educator who now operates a small tourism business along the Buffalo River, she said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
