ELM SPRINGS (KFSM) – The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality is investigating whether the town of Elm Springs is properly maintaining an evaporation field where liquid waste is disposed of, officials say.
State investigators traveled to Elm Springs on Thursday (Oct. 16) to examine the field and are putting together a written report on whether the field has been maintained properly as spelled out in the town’s state permit, according to officials. Another name for the 6.2-acre piece of land under investigation is “surface-pipe disposal field.”
A complaint was filed with the state on Oct. 13 by Harold Douthit, a member of the Elm Springs City Council, officials said.
Douthit is vying to unseat Elm Springs Mayor Ben Wall in the Nov. 4 election.
The town uses the evaporation field to dispose of liquid waste after it has been processed through the sewer-and-water treatment plant, according to Kevin Caudle, an Elm Springs Sewer Committee member. After it is drained into the field, it evaporates, Caudle said.
The complaint filed with ADEQ states that the guidelines for the surface-pipe disposal field outlined in the town’s permit are not being upheld.
At issue is the disposal of grass clippings when the field gets mowed, according to Caudle. He said although the field is being mowed on a weekly basis, the grass clippings are not being gathered and disposed of. They are being left in the field, according to Caudle.
Wall told 5NEWS the clippings are “not a major problem.”
The mayor also said that once the clippings were bagged, there was the problem of what to do with them, and there was no good way to dispose of them.
If the state finds a problem with the upkeep of the land, the town could risk losing its permit for the field, Caudle said.
Approximately 170-180 customers are hooked onto the field, and if the permit for it is taken away, those customers would have to spend their own money to put down lateral lines at their residences to deal with liquid waste, according to Caudle.
A copy of the minutes from the June 2 Elm Springs Sewer Committee meeting states Caudle voiced concerns about the field and its upkeep to Wall.
According to the minutes, “Caudle asked if we were going to address the hauling off of our clippings. Mayor Wall stated that for now we are not and that ADEQ has relaxed some on that. Our cost would double if we were to haul off the clippings.”
“Kevin Caudle suggested we need to start dealing with the clippings at the sewer plant the way we are required to. Under our permit we are required to bag the clippings and dispose of [them] properly,” the minutes state.
The mayor declined to respond further to the investigation until he receives the report from ADEQ.
State investigators told Wall they would respond to him by writing within 10 days of the inspection.
State Permit:
“The field shall be maintained with a vegetative cover for additional treatment and to minimize erosion. When the vegetative cover is mowed, clippings shall be removed from the field. Vegetation not appropriate for the drip field cover, such as tree and shrub growth, shall be removed. The field shall be protected from any activity that might damage the irrigation system.”
