ADEQ Sets New Water Pollution Limits In Rivers, Streams

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality says its proposals for new statewide water standards could appease Oklahoma in a yearlong dispute between the states.

The Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission laid out new limits Friday for phosphorus and other nutrients in the state's rivers and streams. Residents will have a chance to comment at six public hearings scheduled for January.

Meanwhile, the state is still negotiating with Oklahoma over allowable phosphorus levels in the Illinois River, which starts just west of the growing cities of Northwest Arkansas but was named a scenic river in Oklahoma last year.

Today's proposed standards would back up efforts by Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers, Siloam Springs and Springdale to limit the amount of phosphorus their sewage systems discharge into the Illinois River.