The two-year negotiations between the city and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences over the purchase of Ray Winder Field appear to be coming to a close. The city and UAMS have finally settled on a sale price of $1,321,133; City Attorney Tom Carpenter said only minor clarifications need to be made to the document of sale.

After City Manager Bruce Moore approves the document it will be sent to UAMS. Carpenter says the City Board might be able to take action on the agreement as soon as its second meeting in February (Feb. 22).

Advertisement

The Ray Winder Project will be discussed at the Jan. 28 meeting of the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees’ buildings and grounds committee.

Advertisement

The pits

Advertisement

We told you last week about a joint effort by the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission and the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality to regulate reserve pits on natural gas drilling sites across the state. The pits are built to hold various types of fluids — some containing very dangerous chemicals — that are used or produced during drilling.

Officials from AOGC and ADEQ told the Times the joint effort was aimed at better regulating what could be a source of water pollution. ADEQ has historically been short of inspection teams to regulate these and other pits, so the joint effort will aid in that.

Advertisement

The reason for their cooperation was made a little more clear in a filing Tuesday by the League of Women Voters and the Sierra Club. They were commenting on the new rules passed to regulate the pits. They say AOGC’s new rule B-17 and AEDQ’s new Rule 34 were “promulgated in significant part to respond to an oil company challenge to the ADEQ’s regulatory authority; the oil producers argued that only AOGC could control their activities.” The case cited is ADEQ v. Oil Producers of Arkansas, from 2009.

AOGC recently passed B-17 to set up regulations and institute penalties. ADEQ is adapting rule 34 from the agency’s general permit, which has been used since 2007 to regulate the pits.

Advertisement

The League of Women Voters and the Sierra Club also maintain that the rules do “not sufficiently safeguard against dangerous leaks from waste pits.” Rule B-17 does not require that gas companies line all pits with a leak-proof synthetic liner. The rule also suffers from vague language, activists say.

“[Rule B-17] requires that operators site reserve pits ‘with reasonable consideration to maximizing distances from surface waters’ but does not specify exact distances,” the letter says.

Advertisement

No fees for AEDQ

According to the letter, another problem created by the new rule is the loss of ADEQ funds. Currently, drillers must pay a $300 permit fee to ADEQ in order to build a pit. Since the regulations will no longer be based on a permit, ADEQ — with an already tight budget for inspectors — will lose those fees.

Advertisement

“Because hundreds of pits are built annually, and violations are likely to be common under the vague terms of Rule B-17, enforcement costs are likely to grow, even as permitting revenues fall,” the letter says.

Attempts to reach ADEQ director Teresa Marks for comment before press time were unsuccessful.

The Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission held a hearing on the proposed Rule 34 on Tuesday. Public comments regarding the rule will be accepted until Feb. 8.

Invest in the future of great journalism in Arkansas

Join the ranks of the 63,000 Facebook followers, 58,000 Twitter followers, 35,000 Arkansas blog followers, and 70,000 daily email blasts who know that the Arkansas Times is the go-to source for tough, determined, and feisty journalism that holds the powerful accountable. For 50 years, our progressive, alternative newspaper in Little Rock has been on the front lines of the fight for truth, and with your support, we can do even more. By subscribing or donating to the Arkansas Times, you'll not only have access to all of our articles, but you'll also be helping us hire more writers and expand our coverage. Don't miss out on the opportunity to make a difference with your subscription or donation to the Arkansas Times today.

Previous article UA Honors College senior faces deportation Next article Legislative rundown