Fort Smith board invites EPA administrator, U.S. attorney general to discuss consent decree; adds Region 6 director to outreach

The Fort Smith Board of Directors voted unanimously April 1 to invite U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to Fort Smith for a conversation about the city's consent decree.

The resolution, introduced by Director Settle, directs staff to prepare and send the appropriate correspondence. Director Settle said the board has pursued the idea since March and believes either the principals or their deputies could help address the city's compliance timeline and related concerns.

The move was prompted by residents and other commenters who urged the board to seek higher-level federal attention. "When I first saw this on the agenda, I thought maybe this is some kind of an April Fools joke," said Patrick Maguire, a resident, and then added his support: "We need every bit of help that we can get from anywhere, and I think this is an excellent idea." Chris Cadelli, another resident, suggested the board also ask Department of Justice officials and to review how past consent-decree spending was allocated. "I'd like to know what that looks like and how people are being billed if their water meter doesn't even work properly," Cadelli said.

Board members debated whether to contact the Region 6 EPA director first or go directly to top leadership in Washington. Director Kemp asked whether the board might be "overstepping protocol" by going directly to national appointees when a new Region 6 director, Mason, has been appointed. Director Settle and others said prior efforts through regional channels had not produced results and argued higher-level outreach could accelerate assistance or visibility for Fort Smith.

Director Goode moved to amend the resolution to explicitly include the EPA Region 6 director and the EPA vice president; the amendment was seconded and passed on a 7-0 roll call. The board then approved the amended resolution 7-0; the clerk recorded each director voting in favor.

Deputy Administrator Maggie Rice told the board that, if adopted, staff would draft and send the invitations. The resolution does not require the invited officials to attend; the board discussed the possibility of deputies or virtual participation if the top officials cannot schedule a visit.

The invitation explicitly references the city's consent decree and seeks a discussion about compliance, affordability and enforcement. The resolution was requested March 4 and will be executed by the mayor following the board's authorization.

Staff will prepare the correspondence and follow up on logistics; no meeting date with federal officials was set at the April 1 session.