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The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (“ADEQ”) and City of Crawfordsville, Arkansas, (“Crawfordsville”) entered into a February 22nd Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressing an alleged violation of a Clean Water Act National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) permit. See LIS No. 19-014.

The CAO provides that Crawfordsville operates a municipal wastewater treatment facility (“Facility”) in Crittenden County, Arkansas.

The Facility is stated to discharge treated wastewater to Alligator Bayou and eventually to the St. Francis River. Such discharge is regulated pursuant to an NPDES permit.

The permit is stated to expire on May 31, 2019. Part III, Section D, Condition 10 of the permit is stated to require Crawfordsville to submit a complete permit renewal application at least 180 days prior to the expiration date of the permit if the activity regulated by the permit is to continue after the expiration date.

Crawfordsville is stated to intend to operate the Facility beyond the expiration date of the current permit, May 31, 2019. The City is stated to have been notified on June 7, 2018, and September 5, 2018, that the permit would expire on May 31, 2019, and that in order to continue the regulated activity a complete renewal application must be submitted no later than December 2, 2018.

The complete permit renewal application is stated to have not been received by the relevant date. This is stated to constitute a violation of Part III, Section D, Condition 10 of the permit.

The CAO requires immediately upon execution of the document that Crawfordsville provide to ADEQ a request seeking permission to submit the renewal application at a later date but no later than the effective date of the CAO. Crawfordsville would be further required to comply with the existing NPDES permit until either the effective date of the permit renewal or the effective date of the permit termination.

A civil penalty of $1,000 is assessed which could have been reduced by one half if the CAO was returned to ADEQ within 20 calendar days of receipt of the document.

A copy of the CAO can be found here.