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Contact Information: Katherine Benenati / 501.682.0821 / benenati@adeq.state.ar.us
FOR RELEASE: June 17, 2015
ADEQ LAUNCHES MOBILE COMPLAINTS APP FOR APPLE USERS
Those carrying iPhones and iPads can now use the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality’s mobile app that allows users anywhere in the state to report environmental hazards directly from some smart phones. A similar app was introduced for Android users in November 2014.
“We are excited to be offer user-friendly technology to improve agency response to potential issues. With this announcement we will be able to expand the number of users who will be able to access our complaints app, and we hope members of the public take advantage of it,” Director Becky Keogh said. “These tools not only help the public, but they help our inspectors enormously by being able to see what citizens are seeing before they even arrive at a site.”
The mobile app is available in the Apple App Store. (Android users can find the app in the Google Play Store.) Simply search for ADEQ and tap “Get” when the app, which features ADEQ’s seal, comes up.
The apps allow Arkansans to report environmental hazards in real time. To file a complaint, you must provide a Complaint Type (Air, Hazardous Waste, Water, unknown, etc.), and a description of the potential violation. Users also need to provide the county, and the location or driving directions. Users will also be able to add photos of the potential hazard. Photos taken within the ADEQ app will be geotagged with GPS coordinates if GPS location services are enabled on the device. Contact information may be provided, but it is not required. Users will be able to review all complaint information prior to submission.
Those in areas without cell service can save a complaint and submit it when they regain cell service.
The photos and GPS coordinates will help inspectors better pinpoint the location of a specific complaint, Keogh said. Recently, the department updated its complaints webpage to allow users to upload photos.
“Our inspectors investigate all complaints, but sometimes conditions can change very rapidly,” Keogh said. “Having photos really shows our inspectors exactly why a given complaint was filed and what the person filing it was seeing. A picture really is worth 1,000 words.”
An ADEQ inspector will follow up with anyone who submits a complaint and provides contact information. Complaints can also be submitted anonymously. ADEQ inspectors follow up on all complaints, which can also be submitted online at http://www.adeq.state.ar.us/home/complaints.htm, in person, or by calling ADEQ at 501-682-0744. Each year ADEQ receives around 400 complaints online. Complaints and inspections can be viewed online by selecting the databases menu on ADEQ’s homepage at www.adeq.state.ar.us and scrolling down to “ADEQ Complaints and Inspections.”
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