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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 20, 2018
Public Hearings Scheduled for Regulation 37
NORTH LITTLE ROCK—The Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission (APC&EC) will hold two public hearings to receive comments on a third-party proposal by the Northwest Arkansas Nutrient Trading Research and Advisory Group (NANTRAG) to initiate rulemaking for a new APC&EC Regulation 37 (Arkansas Nutrient Water Quality Trading Regulation). The first hearing will be on Tuesday, March 27, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. in the Commission Room at the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) headquarters, 5301 Northshore Drive, in North Little Rock. The second hearing will take place at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 29, 2018, in Waldron Hall at the Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences, 1371 West Altheimer Drive, in Fayetteville.
The deadline for submitting written comments on the regulation is 4:30 p.m. (Central Time) April 12, 2018.
The fact that APC&EC has agreed to initiate such a third-party rulemaking procedure does not constitute an endorsement of the proposal at this time. The APC&EC will decide whether to adopt the proposed changes after the conclusion of the public comment period for the proposal and after NANTRAG and ADEQ respond to all public comments submitted during the public comment period.
In 2015 the Arkansas General Assembly enacted Act 335 authorizing the APC&EC to promulgate regulations governing the establishment and implementation of a nutrient water quality trading program. NANTRAG proposes APC&EC Regulation 37 to establish the requirements and procedures for implementing nutrient water quality trading. Under the proposed rule, participation in the nutrient trading program would be completely voluntary. Application for approval of a nutrient credit generating project would be submitted to ADEQ, and the Department would decide whether the proposed project would be appropriate for generating credits that could be used by permit holders regulated by ADEQ.
Oral and written comments will be accepted at the hearings, but written comments are preferred in the interest of accuracy. In addition, written and email comments will be considered if received no later than 4:30 p.m. (Central Time) on April 12, 2018. Written comments should be delivered or mailed to: Kelly Robinson, Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, 5301 Northshore Drive, North Little Rock, AR 72118. Email comments should be sent to: reg-comment@adeq.state.ar.us.
CONTACT: Kelly Robinson (Robinson@adeq.state.ar.us or 501.682.0916)
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