Download PDF
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued an April 3rd news release recognizing Clean Water Act state revolving fund assistance recipients for exceptional projects.
The Flippin, Arkansas Wastewater Treatment Plant was among the projects listed in the “honorable mentions” category.
Participating state programs are allowed to nominate one project that is believed to exemplify one or more of the following evaluation criteria:
- Environmental and public health protection.
- Community engagement.
- System partnerships.
- Innovative financing.
- Problem solving.
To be eligible, a project must have an executed Clean Water state revolving fund assistance agreement and be operational in one or more of the following phases:
- Operational; or
- Planning.
EPA describes the Flippin project as follows:
“The City of Flippin, Arkansas, operates a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) that discharges into the White River, a river of significant economic, recreational, and natural value that has been designated a National Blueway The plant had been operating beyond hydraulic capacity, requiring operators to manipulate the treatment process to prevent biosolids from being discharged into the river. Operators were forced to choose between allowing effluent to exceed permit limitations or discharging untreated sludge. This project will use $4.l million in CWSRF assistance to expand the capacity of the Flippin WWTP. The City will make upgrades to the WWTP including the installation of a new influent pump station, headworks, and a 0.3 MGD Sequential Batch Reactor (SBR). These improvements will enable the plant to effectively treat all the City's sewage and bring the facility into compliance. There will no longer be spillovers of untreated sewage into the White River, improving water quality and protecting public health for downstream communities and businesses. The new energyefficient equipment will also reduce operations costs and contribute to future plant sustainability.”
A link to the EPA announcement can be found here. A copy of the description of the Flippin project can be found here.
