State briefs

Arkansas 1 of 2 states without plan for water degradation

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas is one of just two states that have yet to implement a plan to protect the state’s most important waters from degrading.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that Arkansas has not adopted an “anti-degradation” plan, a major provision of the federal Clean Water Act’s water quality standards to stop rivers and lakes from deteriorating.

Deterioration can occur in many forms, such as when a body of water has too much dirt or when nutrients like phosphorus or nitrogen build up and form algae.

Environmental advocates say the anti-degradation provision protects the nation’s scenic waterways. But businesses say implementation of the provision won’t change water quality much but will require companies and utilities to pay more for engineering studies on cleaner waste technology and disposal methods when applying for discharge permits.

No one has applied for $815,000 Arkansas environmental grant

LITTLE ROCK — Administrators of Arkansas’ most populous county say no one has applied for an $815,000 grant from a federal environmental program that helped developers revitalize downtown Little Rock’s Main Street.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund distributes money to government agencies to assess and clean up properties where hazardous substances may be present.

About 10 years ago, more than $1 million in brownfields program money helped clean

up buildings that became major staples of Little Rock’s Main Street program. But Josh Fout, Pulaski County’s brownfields administrator, says no one has applied for the new grant money.

Last year, the EPA announced $55.2 million in brownfields grants to 131 communities, with Pulaski County receiving the highest award of $820,000. The county has spent only $5,000.