Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Environment Central Arkansas Water cited for environmental concerns
Posted by Max Brantley on Wed, Jul 25, 2012 at 9:24 AM
Embarrassment for Central Arkansas Water. Rural residents of the Lake Maumelle watershed, bitterly opposing new land use rules meant to protect the water supply, say the water utility is a big hypocrite because a contractor building a pump station for the utility was cited for failure to clean up a small oil spill fast enough and for concrete washout on surrounding area.
Gotcha, CAW. Channel 4 reports here.
Much preaching about the violation at the Quorum Court meeting last night, part of the orchestrated effort by Perry County residents, with support from Deltic Timber and Koch brothers-paid lobbyists, to foil land use rules for the watershed.
Here's the thing obscured by the noise. CAW screwed up, yes. Regrettable, yes. Perhaps they'll watch their contractors more closely in the future. But imagine a watershed unfettered by rules, with thousands of homes and businesses building new structures, fueling boats and cars, applying chemicals, disposing of waste. Imagine having to depend on a state agency that can't keep up with gas drilling, much less residential subdivisions and the individual actors in them, as the last line of protection over a water supply that serves hundreds of thousands of people.
A minor construction site problem — whether by CAW or not — is precisely an argument FOR watershed protection, not against it. The Bigelow bunch wants you to believe from this episode that there's no point regulating land use because people will just violate the rules anyway. This is the kind of thinking that says there's no point to regulate assault rifle weapon and ammo sales because, hey, criminals will just find a way to use them for mass slaughter anyway. It tells you a lot about the mindset of opponents, that's for sure.
UPDATE: Here's the full ADEQ finding. Pretty small potatoes, which doesn't excuse it, but ....
Speaking of...
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ExxonMobil has a plan for Lake Maumelle watershed
May 22, 2013The line is open. Leslie Newell Peacock hopes to follow directly with a little something about a meeting today of Little Rock, Central Arkansas Water, ExxonMobil and other people over the Pegasus pipeline that runs through 18 miles of CAW's watershed, including along the shore of Lake Maumelle, the region's water supply. /more/
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The death and taxes open line
May 16, 2013The line is open. Closing out: * THERE THE GOP GOES AGAIN: The Arkansas Republican Party is in all-out assault mode on U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, today pounding him for saying seven years ago that he supported permanent repeal of the estate tax (dishonestly called a "death tax" by the Republicans) but joining in recent bipartisan approval of what is now a dramatically lower estate tax. /more/
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Exxon pipeline in watershed prompts meeting — Exxon a no-show
May 2, 2013Government officials and others came together today in Little Rock to discuss the ExxonMobil Pegasus pipeline, currently shut down on account of the Mayflower rupture, which runs through 13 miles of the Lake Maumelle watershed. /more/
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Morning notes: Clinton library, protection for Lake Maumelle
April 24, 2013Some morning odds and ends: * BIPARTISANSHIP IN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARIES: The Dallas Morning News includes an op-ed from Skip Rutherford on the cooperative nature of presidential library planning. /more/
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It's called CYA: Tim "Pipeline" Griffin backs pipeline relocation
April 16, 2013Rep. Tim Griffin wants ExxonMobil to move its Pegasus pipeline out of the Central Arkansas Water's watershed for its water supply. No word yet on what he thinks about Keystone XL's crossing of sensitive aquifer in Nebraska. /more/
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Central Arkansas Water asks Exxon to relocate pipeline
April 11, 2013The board of the Central Arkansas Water utility met today and, as expected, adopted a resolution asking for information from Exxon Mobil about causes of the pipeline rupture at Mayflower and for assurances about future safe operation before the Pegasus pipeline is restarted. /more/
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Mayflower oil spill: The hand of God?
April 9, 2013Ernie Dumas writes this week on the Mayflower oil spill, beginning by musing, a la Pat Robertson/Jerry Falwell/etc., whether a divine hand might have had an influence. /more/
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Rainy days and Sundays
March 31, 2013Hmmm. Late and not much to bring at this point, either: * HAPPY EASTER: I did join a good crowd beneath the River Market pavilions for Pulaski Methodist's sunrise service this morning and did get to give a good hug to Swann Kohler, my old friend who got the ball rolling 25 years ago. /more/
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A compromise delay on Lake Maumelle protection
March 27, 2013JP Tyler Denton, under deserved fire for throwing in with the bad guys and joining Republican members of the Pulaski Quorum Court to delay watershed protection ordinances for the Maumelle watershed for four years, backed a compromise delay last night. /more/
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The Max is Back, But Depleted Edition
March 22, 2013The private option, tax cuts, school choice, voter ID, Big River Steel, the political impact of a Republican majority in the legislature, the governor's race, the tech park and delay tactics in the Lake Maumelle watershed — all covered this week. /more/
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