After a slow start and some urging by a large crowd, the Baxter County Quorum Court last night approved an ordinance implementing minimum standards to control ground alteration, grading and erosion control for development projects. The issue took up the majority of a three hour meeting. Richard Hester has the story.
The ordinance--which the court initially voted down in October--was passed with some amendments that eliminated objections by the local Farm Bureau and some court members. The final vote was 10 to 0 for the ordinance, with JP Josh Davis leaving the meeting due to illness.
Things got off to a slow start when, after more than an hour and a half discussion, an attempt to amend a definition for one of the terms in the ordinance was defeated by a 7 to 4 vote.
The court then decided to hear from members of the audience, who overwhelmingly spoke in favor of the ordinance. That spurred the court into approving a number of amendments to the ordinance and then adopting it.
The six-page ordinance is a model EPA law that requires developers and others who clear or grade an acre or more land to first obtain a site development permit from the county. It was proposed by County Judge Dan Hall in an effort to prevent reoccurrences of the Overlook Estates situation which led to a serious sediment runoff problem in the North Fork River.
One of the changes the court made to the ordinance was the removal of the word "existing" in a section exempting nursery and agricultural operations from obtaining permits. Baxter County Farm Bureau President James Rhein told the court unless the term "existing" was removed, the Farm Bureau opposed the ordinance. Although one audience member said farm operations are responsible for a significant amount of water pollution, County Judge Dan Hall said agricultural operations are mostly exempt from EPA and state Department of Environmental Quality regulations. Court members acknowledged most farmers are prudent caretakers of their land and don't cause the type of erosion problems the ordinance is meant to address.
Other amendments to the ordinance that were adopted include an exemption for an individual landowner operating on his property for personal use where the area to be disturbed is no closer than 300 feet to a navigable waterway as defined in state statutes. JP Mickey Pendergrass had objected to the use of the word "watercourse" and suggested it be changed to navigable waterways. County Attorney Ron Kincaid said the White and North Fork Rivers, as well as the lakes, are navigable waterways in Baxter County. JP David Lemoine objected to the removal of streams and moving water from the ordinance, noting grading near a dry creek can result in serious erosion and runoff that can pollute a river or lake if there's a heavy rain.
JP Dick House argued in favor of revising the ordinance so it's directed toward developers. Judge Hall said since it excludes agricultural operations and individual landowners using their property for personal use, it is primarily directed at developers.
Some audience members who supported the ordinance chastised the court for not acting on it sooner. One man said it had been before the court for six months. Another said he would give the court a "D minus" letter grade for how they've handled the issue.
Others, such as Gene Dunaway--President of the Friends of the North Fork and White Rivers --praised the court for dealing with a difficult issue. But he noted state regulations are not working and local control is needed.
A Cotter City councilman said Cotter has been out front on this issue, adopting the ADEQ regulations and using a stop order to shutdown those in non-compliance. Two Norfork Planning Commission members asked for the county's help, noting there are 17 developments underway along the North Fork River and White Rivers. One man said the lack of environmental control is a serious economic issue that threatens the 42 million dollars in revenues generated by trout fishing.
Leon Alexander said it took over a year for the state Department of Environmental Quality to react to the Overlook Estates situation. He said the state agency is complaint driven and local control is needed to take care of problems.
When the court approved the ordinance, the crowd cheered and responded with a standing ovation.
Richard Hester
