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Committee grills ANRC and Perrin Owensville over missing audits as Central Arkansas Water seeks consolidation
Summary
Lawmakers reviewed the proposed sale of Perrin Owensville Water Authority to Central Arkansas Water, pressed the Natural Resources Division (ANRC) on five-year missing audits and limited enforcement powers (a $1,000 fine), and heard CAW say it expects to finance $6 million and may apply up to an $11 monthly surcharge for customers if the contract closes.
Committee members questioned ANRC officials and Perrin Owensville representatives about long-standing audit noncompliance and the transparency of a consolidation process that would transfer the Perrin Owensville system to Central Arkansas Water (CAW).
Ryan Benfield, deputy director of the Natural Resources Division, said state law requires annual audits or agreed-upon procedures for water systems that hold state loans. He told the committee ANRC’s statutory enforcement remedy is limited to a civil penalty of about $1,000 and the agency has not broadly used fines because the task force concluded the sanction is ineffective. Benfield said ANRC’s practical…
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