A clean water advocate writes to say the state Pollution Control and Ecology Commission has removed from its agenda today a proposed rule to limit surface discharge of wastewater in the Lake Maumelle watershed, a proposed rule developed in a watershed management plan aimed at preserving the major water supply. It drew some opposition, particularly from Perry County. I’ll check later on significance of the delay.

More from Gerard Matthews who attended the meeting: Central Arkansas Water asked for a continuation because they simply did not have the votes from the state’s top environmental policy-making body to stop the discharge of sewage in a water supply for nearly 400,000 people.  CAW asked that the issue be put on the commission’s agenda for February.  Martin Maner, director of watershed management at CAW, said the commission was concerned that taking action would set a precedent for the entire state.

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“I would agree that we need to be careful about setting a precedent for the entire state,” Maner said.  “So what I need to do is show that Lake Maumelle is truly unique and explain why this needs to be done. It’s the only Lake where there’s been real in-depth modeling done to show what the impact will be. So I think if we can resolve those concerns then we’ll have the votes.”

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