by - May 8, 2020 6:04 pm
On Thursday (May 7) the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) agreed that the city has proved that the sewer improvement program…
by - April 21, 2020 7:46 pm
The feds aren’t giving the city of Fort Smith a break on the estimated $480 million consent decree despite the impact of historic flooding in 2019 and the ongoing COVID-19…
by - March 18, 2020 5:49 pm
The Fort Smith Board of Directors approved a resolution at its regular board meeting Tuesday (March 17) authorizing an agreement with AquaLaw in the amount of $100,000 as part of…
by - February 4, 2020 7:46 pm
Fort Smith Administrator Carl Geffken said discussions with the Environmental Protection Agency Jan. 29 went well. Geffken met with Region 6 EPA Administrator Ken McQueen in Dallas to argue the…
by - January 28, 2020 3:09 pm
Members of the Fort Smith Board of Directors were told Tuesday (Jan. 28) the city has made a “tremendous commitment” toward fixing sewer system issues mandated by a federal consent…
by - October 29, 2019 5:07 pm
Fort Smith city officials are working on a plan that will put forth an alternative to the consent decree that they can present to federal officials in hopes of seeing…
by - August 21, 2018 4:57 pm
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Justice (DOJ) officials have responded to Talk Business & Politics’ requests for comment on the recent (Aug. 10) meeting between their representatives…
by - August 19, 2018 3:38 pm
The city of Fort Smith has drawn a “red line” on the federal consent decree, according to a new statement from City Administrator Carl Geffken, who said the city is…
by - July 24, 2018 8:15 pm
The Fort Smith Board of Directors approved on Tuesday (July 24) the bond ordinance for $160 million in water and sewer refunding and construction revenue bonds expected to save the…
by - June 24, 2018 3:56 pm
Federal, state and Fort Smith officials plan a conference call Monday (June 25) to discuss progress and possible modifications to the estimated $480 million federal consent decree. Fort Smith City…
by - November 8, 2017 3:33 pm
The Fort Smith Board of Directors on Tuesday (Nov. 7) approved a five-year capital improvement plan for the city’s wastewater program that will budget $153.8 million in consent decree spending…
by - October 25, 2017 3:25 pm
Fort Smith City Administrator Carl Geffken confirmed on Tuesday (Oct. 24) that without changes to the city’s estimated $480 million consent decree, water and sewer rates will continue to go…
by - September 20, 2017 9:59 am
The Fort Smith Board of Directors on Tuesday (Sept. 19) approved a request from the city’s utilities department to proceed with the acquisition of properties related to a federal consent…
by - July 19, 2017 4:47 am
The Fort Smith Board of Directors approved three resolutions related to the city’s federal consent decree totaling $1.929 million at Tuesday night’s (July 18) meeting. The resolutions all related specifically…
by - April 19, 2017 5:34 am
The Fort Smith Board of Directors authorized appropriations for the utilities department’s capital improvement plan (CIP) for 2017 to the tune of $18.325 million in water and sewer upgrades and…
by - April 11, 2017 4:19 pm
Fort Smith officials are seeing the first signs of a more willing partner in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the direction of President Donald Trump appointee and former…
by - April 10, 2017 5:47 pm
Fort Smith City Administrator Carl Geffken knows he has a sizable task on his hands navigating the city’s federal consent decree for years-long violations of the Clean Water Act, and…
by - March 28, 2017 3:51 pm
Fort Smith City Administrator Carl Geffken is done with sewer rate increases for the foreseeable future, stating his administration would no longer entertain increases as long as prices were at…
by - March 14, 2017 9:46 pm
The Fort Smith Board of Directors approved an additional $4 million in consent decree-related items Tuesday night (March 14) at its second regular meeting in two weeks, pushing consent decree…
by - March 7, 2017 10:38 pm
The Fort Smith Board of Directors approved $5 million in consent decree items Tuesday night (March 7) at its regular meeting. The approvals prompted one city director to call for…
