§ 8-4-207 - State water pollution control agency -- Powers and duties generally. - Arkansas Statutes

8-4-207. State water pollution control agency -- Powers and duties generally.

Without limiting the generality of the provisions of this chapter or of the powers which the Director of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality and the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission may have under this or any other legislative act:

(1) (A) The director is authorized to require conditions in permits issued under this chapter regarding the achievement of effluent limitations based upon the application of such levels of treatment technology and processes as are required under the federal act or any more stringent effluent limitations necessary to meet water quality criteria or toxic standards established pursuant to any state or federal law or regulation. Such effluent limitations shall be achieved in the shortest reasonable period of time consistent with state law and the federal act and any regulations or guidelines promulgated thereunder.

(B) The director is further authorized to set and revise schedules of compliance and include such schedules within the terms and conditions of the permits and prescribe other terms and conditions for permits issued under this chapter to assure compliance with applicable state and federal effluent limitations and water quality criteria, including requirements concerning recording, reporting, monitoring, entry, inspection, and sampling as provided in this chapter and such other requirements as are consistent with the purposes of this chapter;

(2) The director shall not issue a permit under this chapter if the discharge of any term of the permit would violate the provisions of any federal law or rule or regulation promulgated thereunder, including the duration of such permit;

(3) Permits for publicly owned treatment works shall include as a condition for the permit that the permittee provide information to the director concerning new introductions of pollutants or substantial changes in the volume or character of pollutants, whether sewage, industrial waste, or other wastes are being introduced into such treatment works, and appropriate measures to establish and ensure compliance by industrial users with any system of user charges required under state or federal law or any regulations or guidelines promulgated thereunder;

(4) The director is authorized to apply and enforce toxic effluent standards and pretreatment standards against industrial users of publicly owned treatment works for the introduction into such treatment works of sewage, industrial wastes, or other wastes which interfere with, pass through, or otherwise are incompatible with such treatment works;

(5) The director and the commission shall ensure public notice, public participation, and an opportunity for public hearing in respect to National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit applications and actions related to them in accordance with applicable state and federal law and rules and regulations; and

(6) (A) (i) Any records, reports, or information obtained under this chapter and any permits, permit applications, and related documentation shall be available to the public for inspection and copying.

(ii) However, information submitted to the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality may be claimed as confidential if its disclosure would divulge trade secrets.

(B) The department shall deny any claim for confidentiality for the name and address of any permit applicant or permittee or for any National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit applications, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits, and effluent data.

(C) Information required by National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System application forms, including any information submitted on the forms themselves and any attachments used to supply information required by the forms, shall not be claimed confidential nor afforded this protection.

(D) Any person adversely affected by a determination by the department on a claim of confidentiality may appeal the determination as provided in 8-4-222 and 8-4-223.