The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment - Division of Environmental Quality and City of Highfill, Arkansas entered into an October 14 Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressing an alleged violation of a No-Discharge Permit. See LIS No. 24-149.
The CAO provides that Highfill operates a decentralized wastewater treatment system with drip irrigation dispersal of treated wastewater (“Facility”) in Benton County, Arkansas.
DEQ is stated to have issued Highfill a No-Discharge Permit (“Permit”) on October 10, 2018. The Permit is stated to have expired on October 31, 2023.
Part III, Condition 23 of the Permit requires Highfill to submit a complete permit renewal application at least 180 days prior to the expiration date of the Permit if the regulated activity will continue after the expiration date. Highfill is stated to have operated the Facility beyond the expiration date of the current Permit.
Highfill submitted a permit renewal application to DEQ on October 3, 2023. The renewal application was deemed administratively complete by DEQ on November 6, 2023.
Because the permit renewal application was not received by May 4, 2023, this is deemed a violation of Part III, Condition 23 of the Permit.
Highfill is required to comply with the existing Permit until the effective date of the renewal permit or Permit termination.
A civil penalty of $1,000.00 is assessed, which could have been reduced to $500.00 is the CAO was signed and returned to DEQ within 20 calendar days of its receipt.
A copy of the CAO can be downloaded here.
