Vote certified; Bethel Heights a city no more.
SPRINGDALE — Bethel Heights, as a city, ceased to exist a little after 6 p.m. Friday.
The Benton County Election Commission on Friday certified the results of the Aug. 11 special election that approved Springdale annexing Bethel Heights. The Washington County Election Commission did the same for votes cast in its county at 1 p.m. Friday.
Residents of both cities proposed the annexation as a way to resolve the matter of Bethel Heights failing sewer system. The measure passed by 70%, with 1,467 voters in Springdale and Bethel Heights voting yes and 334 voting no.
Bethel Heights residents over the next few months will receive sewer service from Springdale Water Utilities, which also provides their water, said Heath Ward, executive director of the municipal utility.
Springdale officials have been working for the past couple of weeks to make the transition of city services to Bethel Heights.
Some of Bethel Heights’ problems are now Springdale’s. Others are going away, and still others remain up in air.
The Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality had Bethel Heights under investigation for more than a year for mismanaging its wastewater treatment system. Several other agencies became involved, trying to get the beleaguered treatment system into state compliance.
Bethel Heights operated a STEP system to treat its wastewater. The system was designed to partially treat wastewater before slowly dispersing it underground into fields at the treatment plants, leaving Mother Nature to do the rest.
The state opened an investigation in April 2019 after a complaint was filed by Lawrence Bowen, who lives nextdoor to the city’s treatment plant on Lincoln Drive. He said partially treated wastewater from the plant was pooling in his yard.
“The Division of Environmental Quality is currently assessing the situation and evaluating options,” Jacob Harper, a spokesperson of the agency, said Wednesday in response to questions about the status of the Bethel Heights investigation. “DEQ did previously communicate that City of Bethel Heights’ system was in a state of continued noncompliance.”
The state division in June asked Springdale Water Utilities to place a moratorium on new water service to any customer connected to the Bethel Heights sewer system. The Springdale utility provided the water service.
On Wednesday, Ward told the Springdale Water and Sewer Commission that the state hasn’t said whether the moratorium is lifted.
Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Nathan Smith on Tuesday stepped away from his threat of criminal charges against Bethel Heights city officials.
“The pursuit of criminal charges was always the last resort in this investigation since the ultimate goal was to have the city provide the necessary services to the citizens,” Smith said in a statement Tuesday. “Since ADEQ and Bethel Heights were still in talks to resolve these issues, the filing of criminal charges had not become necessary.
“While I have not closed the investigation yet, I anticipate making that decision soon. I am confident that the City of Springdale will do all it can do to resolve the problems.”
The Benton County sheriff’s office in June executed a search warrant at the treatment plant on Lincoln Drive. Investigators took water samples and seized a computer.
Neither the sheriff’s office nor prosecutor’s office have reported the results from that warrant.
Bethel Heights sewer customers faced a pricey obligation with the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission.
The city had secured $11.6 million in loans from the commission to help pay for a lift station and pipeline needed to carry wastewater to another treatment plant. The terms of the loan included a 66% increase in the cost of sewer services.
“The loan application submitted by Bethel Heights will be considered withdrawn since the city will be merged into Springdale and the proposed loans will no longer be considered,” reads a Tuesday statement from Anna Thrash, public information manager for the commission. “We have no further involvements with Bethel Heights or Springdale.”
Ward reported that local legislators traveled last week to Little Rock to seek funding to pay to help decommission the system. Grants might be available for cleanup and mitigation of environmental effects, he said.
“We’re cleaning up a big problem for the ADEQ ,” Ward said. “We’re cleaning up a big problem for the Legislature. We’re cleaning up a big problem for the governor. We’re cleaning up a big problem for the state.”