What's New at ADEQ?

Sulfur Dioxide (SO₂) Ambient Air Monitor Removed from Union County

At the request of ADEQ, on January 11, 2017, the Environmental Protection Agency notified ADEQ that operation of the ambient air monitor for sulfur dioxide (SO₂) located in Union County could be discontinued.

Study Shows No Evidence of Pond Release

The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) completed its review of the C&H Hog Farms Drilling Study Report. ADEQ’s review found no evidence of a release from the storage ponds.

Harbor Environmental and Safety successfully completed the drilling study project in a manner consistent with the Drilling Study Work Plan. The drilling study achieved the objective of the project by identifying that the anomaly in the Electrical Resistivity Imaging (ERI) study noted by Dr. Todd Halihan at 120.5 feet below ground surface was groundwater, and not a release. The findings of this study will inform and enable the department to move forward with the pending permitting decisions for C&H Hog Farms.

Executive Summary and Responses

Arkansas SIP Revision Proposal

ADEQ is proposing revisions to the Arkansas State Implementation Plan (SIP) to address requirements of the Clean Air Act, to develop a NAAQS SIP under state requirements, and to establish NAAQS evaluation requirements for minor new source review permitting actions. ADEQ will accept comments on the proposal until February 27, 2017. More information and a copy of the draft revision are available through the Office of Air Quality.

Coarse Particulate Matter Monitor Now Operational in Northwest Arkansas

ADEQ now operates a monitor in Springdale to measure concentrations of coarse particulate matter in ambient air. This ensures that this pollutant is within safe levels for area residents and in compliance with National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

Final Drilling Study Report

UPDATE: ADEQ will continue to accept questions regarding the C&H Drilling Study through December 16 at noon. This will provide additional time to develop informed questions. We will respond to questions at a reasonable time both during and after the question period.

Harbor Environmental and Safety presented the results from its drilling study at C&H Hog Farms December 1, 2016, in a briefing with ADEQ, which was open to the public. Questions were not taken at the presentation to allow the public to review the report and develop informed questions. ADEQ will make an announcement regarding its conclusions following the completion of the review of the final report. Interested parties are encouraged to evaluate the report and to submit their questions to drillingstudyquestions@adeq.state.ar.us. The question period will remain open until noon on Friday, December 16, 2016. ADEQ will review the questions and provide feedback.

New General Permit for Air Curtain Incinerators

The Office of Air Quality has developed a new general permit for air curtain incinerators to simplify the permitting process. An air curtain incinerator is an unit operating by forcefully projecting a curtain of air across an open, integrated combustion chamber (fire box) or open pit or trench (trench burner) in which combustion occurs. Air curtain incinerators covered under this general permit only burn wood waste, clean lumber, yard waste, or a mixture of all three, depending on the restrictions of the permit. To obtain an Air Curtain General Permit, the applicant need only submit a Notice of Intent instead of a full permit application. For information on the permit and the application, visit General Air Permits.

Go RED!

ADEQ is accepting proposals for funding assistance from the current Reduce Emissions from Diesels (Go RED!) program. We have approximately $600,000 available in “Go RED!” funds to award to public and private entities and nonprofit organizations in Arkansas.

This emissions reduction program provides funding assistance to eligible entities for replacement or retrofitting of diesel engines and diesel-powered vehicles resulting in the reduction of emissions. Projects that are selected for awards must reduce diesel emissions in Arkansas by employing measures such as exhaust controls, engine upgrades, idle reduction technologies, engine replacement and vehicle/equipment replacement.

More information, including the current Applicant Guide, can be found on the ADEQ Go RED! page.

State of the Air

The ADEQ Office of Air Quality has prepared a 2016 retrospective report, fact sheet and slide show describing the state of air quality in Arkansas during the past decade.

2017 Environmental Awards

ADEQ is now accepting entries for the Arkansas Environmental Stewardship Award (the ENVY) and the Arkansas Environmental Technology Award (the TECHe).

ADEQ Regulated Waste Management and Pollution Prevention Webinar and Workshops

ADEQ is presenting a webinar and three workshops on regulated waste management and pollution prevention. The two-hour training is free, starting January 18 and running through March 14, 2017.

2018 Water Assessment Methodology Review

ADEQ is in Phase II of a three phase review process for the Assessment Methodology in preparation for the 2018 305(b) report and 2018 303(d) list (impaired waterbodies list). A stakeholder workgroup made up of various local, state, and federal government representatives; industrial, municipal, and utility representatives; and conservation and environmental representatives will discuss possible revisions to the current 2016 Assessment Methodology.

Volkswagen Settlement

Arkansas is to receive $13,951,016 from a settlement with Volkswagen to reduce motor vehicle emissions in the state.

Beautiful Buffalo River Action Committee

On September 30, 2016, Governor Asa Hutchinson announced the Beautiful Buffalo River Action Committee. Learn how to get involved and how Arkansas state agencies are planning to address water quality concerns in the Buffalo River Watershed.

ADEQ’s C & H Pond Integrity Evaluation

ADEQ drilling activities at C&H Hog Farms near Mt. Judea have come to a close. Field work was completed by Harbor Environmental and Safety on Monday, September 26, 2016. Harbor anticipates submitting a final findings report to ADEQ by January 2017.

Air Monitoring at Georgia-Pacific

Georgia-Pacific, in cooperation with Region 6 of the EPA, ADEQ, and Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) is voluntarily conducting an ambient air monitoring assessment for hydrogen sulfide in Crossett.