Environment notebook

Hog farm allowed more time for plan

Owners of a medium-size hog farm in Newton County that was taken to court last year by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality have until July 1 to finish clearing their stacking barns and submit a nutrient management plan, a judge ordered this month.

Patrick and Starlinda Sanders, owners of Sanders Farms just west of Western Grove, were previously ordered to submit a nutrient management plan for the hog manure and to clean up the barns by March 15.

By the end of February, they had submitted a temporary nutrient management plan, according to court filings. On March 1, the Sanderses asked for more time to complete a plan and to remove manure from their stacking sheds.

A week later, Boone County Circuit Judge Gail Inman-Campbell granted the request and set a trial for 10 a.m. July 19.

Sanders Farm, home to about 2,400 hogs, is operating without a permit in the Buffalo River watershed, but the owners are attempting to use a dry litter manure management system, which does not require a permit. Issues with hog overcrowding led to manure runoff from the farm last year, prompting the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality to ask the court to shut it down, which the court declined to do.

LR creek cleanup nets 4 tons of trash

Volunteers removed more than 4 tons of waste from Fourche Creek in Little Rock during a cleanup earlier this month, Friends of Fourche Creek said in a news release. That included 159 tires. The March 10 cleanup brought together 55 volunteers, including those from conservation groups and area companies.

Friends of Fourche Creek hosts a handful of cleanup events in the creek every year, each time removing tons of waste that has been intentionally dumped there or litter that has drained into the creek from storm drains throughout Little Rock.

The group, which includes Audubon Arkansas and other organizations, has advocated for helping the 20-mile secluded creek be more of a recreational destination.

Audubon Arkansas is hosting a BioBlitz — an inventory of species in the area — April 17, according to a news release last week.

Ozark schools win grant for new buses

The Ozark School District will get two new buses that will have cleaner air emissions, thanks to a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded last month.

The district will receive $20,000 to replace each school bus, for a total of $40,000, as a part of the EPA’s Clean Diesel Rebates program, permitted by the federal Diesel Emission Reduction Act of 2010.

The Ozark School District was the only district in Arkansas to receive a rebate for the latest year of funding. The district will replace a bus from 1998 and a bus from 2001.

Nationwide, the EPA awarded $8.7 million to “replace or retrofit 452 older diesel school buses,” according to an agency news release. That money will go to 141 districts in 32 states.