Faculty Expert Helps Legislators Clarify EPA Regulations

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - When the House and Senate Interim Committee on City, County and Local Affairs meets in Fayetteville on Friday, University of Arkansas researcher Findlay Edwards will speak with members about new regulations for storm water discharge that will affect small towns statewide.

The meeting will begin at 2:30 p.m. at the Fayetteville Hilton and is open to the public.

Edwards, assistant professor of civil engineering, will address impending Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) storm water regulations that will directly affect small municipalities and construction projects. He will be joined by Luanne Diffen from Rogers and Jim Beavers, Fayetteville city engineer, who will discuss how their cities are implementing the regulations and funding sources.

"Many small municipalities, like Bethel Heights and West Fork, will be directly affected by these regulations," explained Edwards. "Because Arkansas law doesn’t currently support storm water discharge districts, each small town and construction activity will be responsible for its own permitting and reporting processes."

According to the EPA, regulations affecting small municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) will go into effect Dec. 9, 2002, but MS4s serving less than 10,000 people can apply for phased-in coverage. These regulations also apply to small construction activities, which are defined as activities that disturb between one and five acres of land.

"In northwest Arkansas, for example, this law will affect the all the contiguous towns, the University of Arkansas, Washington County, Benton County, the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, all construction that clears one acre or more, and many more political entities," Edwards explained. "Because many of the political entities overlap or directly impact their neighbors, it will be important that all of these political entities work together."

As defined by this law, "small urbanized areas" are areas with a population of 50,000 or more, such as Jonesboro, Fort Smith, Pine Bluff, and North Little Rock, according to Edwards. This includes all towns of less than 50,000 that are contiguous and have a combined population of 50,000 or greater, as well as many other political entities, including county governments, special districts and state departments.

"Meetings like this really help legislators to get up to speed on complicated issues like storm water regulations," explained committee staff member Karen Holliday. "During a legislative session, things happen too fast. Legislators may be dealing with 2000 bills in a session and there isn’t a lot of time for research. That is the purpose of interim committees. It gives members time to study issues and get input from experts."

The public meeting also gives the committee an opportunity to inform public officials of areas of concern that they may be facing, according to Holliday. And holding the meetings around the state allows public officials to get input from experts without requiring a lot of travel.

"Faculty members are a great resource," said Holliday. "They provide a neutral position to help us understand the science behind the regulations and address what is expected to happen. They have always been very cooperative."

The wide range of expertise available at the University of Arkansas gives state legislators have resources available to assist them in making informed decisions. Legislators, in turn, provide opportunities for citizens and public officials to learn about situations and opportunities that directly affect their communities.