Two new public hearings have been added to the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission's statewide hearing tour this summer on the state's new water plan -- the first in more than 20 years.
The new hearings are in Monticello on Aug. 25 and Harrison on Aug. 27, both at 11 a.m. Other hearings will be held in Jonesboro, Little Rock, Fayetteville, El Dorado, Stuttgart and Texarkana.
The $4 million water plan, funded by the Legislature in 2012, has projected groundwater shortages in the state's eastern half unless measures are taken to soften the blow. It calls for measuring groundwater with meters in certain wells, storing excess surface water, evaluating the effectiveness of existing tax credits and incentives for irrigation water conservation, and a re-evaluation of the limit on water use for homes or businesses that are not along bodies of water.
Most of the plan is focused on updating the state's plan use and supply data. The state has already begun to follow most of the recommendations, but the plan is considered a rule-making process that would be adopted into the commission's official rules.
Comment period extended by EPA
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has again extended its public comment period on its plan for implementing the Regional Haze Rule in Arkansas.
The comment period, originally slated to end , was extended 15 days to July 30.
The Regional Haze Rule was approved by Congress in 1999 as a part of the Clean Air Act. The rule targets visibility in certain national parks and wildlife areas across the country, calling for reductions in sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions.
In Arkansas, those areas are Caney Creek and the Upper Buffalo River. Arkansas power plants also contribute to haze at Hercules-Glades Wilderness and Mingo National Wildlife Refuge in Missouri.
The federal plan calls for retrofitting nine units at six power plants with environmental scrubbers, estimated to cost hundreds of millions of dollars. The plan is similar to a state plan drawn up previously, except for the inclusion of the two units at the 1,678-megawatt Independence coal plant in Newark. That plant is principally owned by Entergy Arkansas, with the other 35 percent belonging to the Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp.
Metro on 07/21/2015