Official optimistic about ozone levels
Ahead of new federal ozone standards set to be released, Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality Director Becky Keogh said she believed the state would wind up already being in compliance with the stricter standards anticipated.
Keogh told the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission, the department’s appellate body, on Friday morning that she attributes the state’s ozone reductions to better meeting clean fuel standards.
Unusually cool summers can also contribute to lower ozone levels.
Ozone occurs naturally in the atmosphere but forms at ground level when car exhaust and industrial emissions react to high temperatures and sunlight. Exposure to ground-level ozone can intensify allergies or respiratory problems for people who already have them. Under worse weather conditions, high levels of ozone can create respiratory problems for anyone.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule announced in November would lower the threshold for ozone pollution from 75 parts of ozone per billion parts of air to a range of 65 to 70 parts of ozone per billion parts of air.
Taking only 2012 through 2014 into account, Little Rock’s average is 71 parts per billion — a level aided by two wet, mild summers in a row. Five sites around the state averaged below 70 parts per billion last year.
Keogh also lauded the continued reduction in ozone in the trucking-heavy Memphis metro area, where car exhaust issues are worse.
“We feel confident we will not have violating areas,” Keogh said.
Public hearing set on hog waste plans
The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality will hold a public hearing Tuesday night on proposed changes to the methods of hog waste disposal at C&H Hog Farms.
In May, C&H submitted a proposed modification to its permit to add covers on its hog waste lagoons that would capture the gas emitted and send it through an upward pipe to flare and burn it.
Additionally, the company wants to install high-density polyethylene liners in its two hog waste lagoons. Such liners can be found in garbage bags but are commonly used in much larger projects, such as landfills and waste lagoons, to help mitigate leaks.
The facility has been proposing new methods of waste disposal in an effort to appease environmental groups.
The hearing will be held in the Jasper School District Cafetorium at 600 School St. at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
C&H Hog Farms, permitted to house 2,503 sows and 4,000 piglets, opened in Mount Judea in May 2013. Many neighbors and environmental groups were concerned that the facility could pollute the Buffalo National River.
Millions of dollars of the state’s rainy day funds are going to study whether the facility is polluting the river, but researchers haven’t reached a conclusion yet.
The facility sits on Big Creek, six miles from where it meets the Buffalo National River.
In 2014, the Buffalo National River — the country’s first national river — had more than 1.3 million visitors who spent about $56.5 million at area businesses, according to National Park Service data.
River convergence suggestions sought
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is asking for input on a project to ensure the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System remains navigable.
The Corps of Engineers, along with the Arkansas Waterways Commission, has signed a $3 million cost-sharing agreement to study, find and implement a permanent solution to flow problems where the Arkansas, White and Mississippi rivers converge in east Arkansas.
Through Oct. 15, the Corps’ Little Rock District is accepting public comments “regarding the development of an Integrated Draft Three River Feasibility Study Report and a Draft Environmental Impact Statement,” according to a news release.
Those studies will be conducted after the comment period has ended, taking the comments into consideration.
Written comments can be submitted to Craig Hilburn, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Little Rock District, Planning and Environmental Division, P.O Box 867, Little Rock, Ark. 72203-0867. Hilburn can also be reached at (501) 324-5735 and at David.C.Hilburn@ usace.army.mil.