The Arkansas Department of Energy & Environment – Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the City of Lexa, Arkansas (Lexa) recently entered into a Consent Administrative Order (CAO) to address an alleged violation of a Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit (Permit). The Consent Administrative Order, which was enacted on September 13th, was disclosed by the law firm Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard.
The NPDES permit system was established under the Clean Water Act to regulate point sources that discharge pollutants into waters of the United States. Such permits help to maintain the quality of water resources and protect against infrastructure damage by controlling the amount and type of discharge a facility can release into these waters.
The violation by the City of Lexa pertains to the release of wastewater, a regulated substance under the NPDES permit system. Wastewater is a significant concern, contributing to water pollution and public health issues. The details of the violation and the terms of the Consent Administrative Order were not immediately available.
While the specific actions required by the Consent Administrative Order remain undisclosed, such orders typically involve the implementation of corrective measures and often include the payment of civil penalties. Past violations of similar nature have led to substantial fines and forced cities to make expensive infrastructure upgrades to prevent future non-compliance issues. Experts will be watching closely to see how the City of Lexa responds to this order.
We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as more information becomes available. For the complete news, please visit the original article here.