State officials seek to streamline oilfield-waste permitting and update NPDES rules to keep EPA delegation

Bailey Taylor, director of the Division of Environmental Quality, and Keisha Morrison, chief counsel at the Department of Energy and Environment, presented Rule 1 amendments to transfer permitting and routine surface inspections for Class 2 disposal wells to the Oil and Gas Commission, and sought review of Rule 6 amendments to maintain state administration of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).

Taylor said the change "removes some duplicative permitting and really streamline[s] and make[s] things more efficient for both the agencies and the regulated community." Shane Corey, secretary for the Department of Energy and Environment, added that oil-and-gas inspectors already inspect wells and meet federally delegated requirements and that moving permitting to a single permit holder reduces duplicative work while DEQ retains authority to respond if a surface spill impacts waters of the state.

Rule 6 changes update state rules to reflect federal legal changes, keep the moratorium on swine confinements in the Buffalo River watershed, and preserve Arkansas’ federal delegation for NPDES administration so oversight does not revert to EPA.

Lawmakers asked about accountability and audit structures for the oil-and-gas inspections; department officials said federal delegation includes auditing and reporting requirements and that both the oil-and-gas program and DEQ operate under EPA-delegated programs.

What’s next: Both rules were reviewed by the committee without recorded objection; the department asked to have Rule 5 and Rule 6 considered together at the November 14 ALC date if approved.

Attribution: Direct quotes and program descriptions are from Bailey Taylor and Shane Corey during committee testimony.