TONTITOWN, Ark. — Arkansas lawmakers have proposed a bill to approve the testing of groundwater around the Eco-Vista landfill in Tontitown, according to documents filed on April 10.
The bill, written by Arkansas Representatives Steve Unger and Robin Lundstrum, along with Senator Clint Penzo, proposes the use of $1 million to fund the testing.
Tontitown Mayor Angela Russell responded to the proposal, saying "Due to the many concerns we have about the groundwater surrounding the Eco-Vista landfill, the study this bill will pay for is very much needed."
Unger said, "It's a regional problem, but Tontitown has been bearing the brunt of it ... What is seeping out of that landfill? We need to find out."
Additionally, Lundstrum told 5NEWS that she is "pleased to be a co-sponsor of Representative Unger's bill."
"We need to protect our water supply," Lundstrum said.
This proposal comes just a few weeks after the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission (APCEC) approved Waste Management's Eco-Vista landfill to expand in Tontitown by an additional 10 acres, despite city leaders' and residents' complaints.
Representatives with the landfill filed the request to expand despite the City of Tontitown's appeal of the decision. The request estimates that the landfill will run out of room in approximately four weeks.
"The residents and commercial customers in Northwest Arkansas in Washington, Benton, and Carroll County will have to find another ... landfill to send their waste before the commission meets again," the request said.
Additionally, it said if additional space is not used as soon as possible, the landfill operations will stop "completely and turn away its customers."
On March 29, the Director of Arkansas' Division of Environmental Quality also made an emergency order to conduct further air quality assessments.
Tontitown Mayor Angela Russell's statement in response to the expansion:
"Tontitown strongly opposes this move by Waste Management to short-circuit the legal appeal process that is currently underway. Considering that it is the Pollution Control & Ecology Commission’s own prior ruling that is under appeal, it would be impossible for them to be unbiased and just in this matter. With recent tests revealing the presence of toxins surrounding the landfill, all plans for expansion must be halted until the issue of air quality is fully resolved. Citizen’s health and well-being must always be our top priority."
This expansion comes after ongoing pushback from Tontitown residents over initial expansion requests and approvals from last year. In December, the APCEC denied the city's appeal to stop the landfill's expansion after residents shared their concerns over Tontitown's air and water quality being impacted.
After receiving complaints from residents, air quality tests were conducted in 2024. In January, the Arkansas Army's National Guard's 61st Civil Support Team (CST) reportedly detected "elevated readings of sulfur dioxide" near the landfill and recommended the state monitor the area for five days for further testing.
From a five-day air monitoring test in February, the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment (ADEE) said "There was no human health or environmental concern for the existence of sulfur dioxide or hydrogen sulfide during the testing period."
However, the Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) did file a complaint against Tontitown's mayor for burning materials on her property during the February air quality test. Russell told 5NEWS that she would never interfere with the air test and that her family received approval from the local fire department to burn the materials to prepare an annual garden.
On Friday, APCEC commission staff confirmed that their commission chair recused while the vice chair granted the request.
In reaction to the decision, State Representative Robin Lundstrum expressed that she understood the concern of the landfill but that the approval "jumped the gun."
"The landfill says their back is against the wall and they need that area, I understand that we're growing, we've got to stop doing the same thing we've always done and expecting different results," Lundstrum said.
Constituents in Lundstrum's district have been concerned about their health for many years pointing the blame at the landfill's effect on the environment.
"Those residents are the canary in the tunnel. And they're telling us and they're warning us we've got a problem," she said.
"We need to come together and start figuring out how we're going to close this landfill and open another one in a better location. Growth comes with decisions. And these are decisions with growth, we've just got to make some good decisions."
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