The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment - Division of Environmental Quality (“ADEQ”) and Arkansas Department of Human Services (“ADHS”) entered into an April 15th Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressing an alleged violation of a Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) Permit. See Case #: CAO-25-0092.
The CAO addresses the Mansfield Juvenile Treatment Center in Mansfield, Arkansas.
The center operates a non-municipal domestic wastewater treatment facility pursuant to a Clean Water Act NPDES Permit. The facility is stated to discharge treated domestic wastewater to an unnamed tributary which eventually flows to the Arkansas River.
Part III.D.10 of the NPDS Permit requires the facility to submit a complete renewal application at least 180 days prior to the expiration of the NPDES Permit if the activity regulated by the Permit is to continue after the expiration date. ADHS intends to operate the facility beyond the expiration date.
ADEQ is stated to have received a renewal application from the facility on July 11, 2025. The renewal application was deemed incomplete. The facility is stated to have not submitted a complete renewal application by August 4, 2025. This is alleged to constitute a failure to submit an administratively complete permit renewal application at least 180 days prior to the expiration date of the NPDES Permit.
The CAO requires that ADHS submit an administratively complete permit renewal application. Further, the facility must comply with the existing NPDES Permit until either effective date of the permit renewal or the effective date of the permit termination.
A civil penalty of $1,000 is assessed, which is conditionally suspended if ADHS fully complies with this CAO.
A copy of the CAO can be found here.
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