EPA chief hears state views in Little Rock visit

Scott Pruitt, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, talks after visiting with Arkansas officials and agriculture representatives Thursday in Little Rock.
Scott Pruitt, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, talks after visiting with Arkansas officials and agriculture representatives Thursday in Little Rock.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt visited with Arkansas Cabinet officials and agriculture representatives Thursday about changes they would like to see made to the nation's definition of protected water bodies.

The visit was the last stop on a three-state tour this week during which Pruitt has consulted with opponents of changes to the definitions of "waters of the United States" made under President Barack Obama's administration. Pruitt visited Utah on Tuesday and Minnesota on Wednesday.

A Pruitt spokesman said Thursday's visit also was a part of his "Back to Basics Agenda." The agenda refers to giving states more authority to regulate and implement environmental regulations and factor economic growth into environmental protections, according to EPA's website.

The "waters of the U.S." definitions determine which bodies of water should be protected by a permitting process. The EPA revised and expanded the definitions in 2015. Opponents argued the new definitions were unclear and left landowners and farmers uncertain about whether they would need permits in relation to small water bodies, such as ditches. Supporters argued that protecting more waters would ultimately benefit more crucial water bodies, including drinking-water sources, by improving the health of their watersheds.

Pruitt announced June 27 that the EPA would begin rescinding the new rule, a process that requires public comment and detailed legal rationale for repeal.

Pruitt met Thursday morning with agriculture, forestry and utility representatives, Gov. Asa Hutchinson, state Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, state Department of Environmental Quality Director Becky Keogh, Arkansas Natural Resources Commission Director Bruce Holland and state Agriculture Department Secretary Wes Ward during a private question-and-answer session hosted by the Poultry Federation at its building on Victory Street in Little Rock.

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Farmers expressed concerns about the regulation of water on their land, with one poultry farmer saying he uses a small pond to capture nutrients and another noting that he and others already operate specially designed environmentally friendly farms, according to Holland, who added that he thought Pruitt's visit to Arkansas could help the people who attended have access to the EPA in the future.

"Folks don't know where federal jurisdiction begins and ends," Pruitt said in an interview, referring to the "waters of the U.S." definition changes that the EPA officially adopted under the regulation known as the Clean Water Rule. He said rescinding the rule was not taking away regulations but fixing a flawed rule.

"Everyone should want that," he said.

Pruitt's words echoed other Arkansas officials, including Rutledge and Keogh, who have argued that the Clean Water Rule is confusing and potentially a source of problems. Keogh said the rule should have revised definitions that provide greater certainty to farmers and landowners about what is regulated and what isn't.

Arkansans in Congress have opposed the rule, as well as the Arkansas Farm Bureau, the Association of Arkansas Counties and other organizations.

But conservation groups in Arkansas and nationwide have largely supported it and argue that rescinding the Clean Water Rule is akin to rolling back water quality protections.

"Arkansas is 'The Natural State', a place where we place a high priority on clean water," Sierra Club Arkansas Chapter Director Glen Hooks said in a statement released Thursday. "We hope that Administrator Pruitt learned today about the damage and environmental consequences that the Trump Administration's clean water rollbacks will cause to our citizens and waterways.

"The Clean Water Act makes it plain that science should lead policy, not the other way around. Arkansans expect the EPA to lead the fight to protect our most precious resources. Sadly, Administrator Pruitt is taking a different approach."

Later Thursday, Pruitt informed Hutchinson, Rutledge, Ward and Keogh that the EPA had approved Arkansas' water-quality standards and a list of impaired water bodies as of 2016.

Officials with the EPA and Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, which writes the standards and collects and assesses water-quality data, were unable to provide documentation of the EPA's decision that would detail exactly what was approved. The department had been drafting its own list of impaired water bodies every other year to submit to the EPA, but it had yet to see one approved since 2008 because of a disagreement with EPA officials over parts of the department's water-quality standards.

Metro on 07/21/2017

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