State briefs

Studies find increased pollution in Buffalo River

LITTLE ROCK — U.S. Geological Survey findings show increased pollution in the groundwater in the Buffalo River watershed.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that studies were conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Park Service and the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. The Buffalo River, the country’s first national river, had increased algae growth this year among 70 miles of the 150mile river.

Last week the ADEQ cited water quality concerns among

its reasons for denying an operating permit to C&H Hog Farm, which sits on Big Creek, a Buffalo tributary. But researchers haven’t tied the presence of the algae to the farm.

The findings are preliminary, and research will likely take years to determine the sources of the problem.

Ethics panel dismisses radio ad complaint

LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Ethics Commission dismissed a complaint by the state’s Republican party that a political action committee inappropriately ran a midterm election radio ad that was called racist by both parties in a U.S. congressional race.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the commission said Friday that Black Americans for the President’s Agenda, a North Carolina PAC, didn’t have to register and report finances in Arkansas.

The state GOP had complained the PAC never registered in Arkansas. But the commission dismissed the argument, saying the ad was run in a national race.

The ad first aired in October in support of Republican U.S. Rep. French Hill, who won re-election against Democratic challenger Clarke Tucker. In the ad, which Hill and Tucker both condemned, a woman says, “white Democrats will be lynching black folk again.”