by - June 22, 2021 10:02 pm
Even with a five-year extension for needed sewer improvement work in Fort Smith, completion of the work required by a federal consent decree could lead to significant sewer rate increase…
by - October 27, 2020 7:58 pm
The Fort Smith Utility Department presented a $609.5 million 10-year capital improvement plan for 2021 through 2030 to the Fort Smith Board of Directors on Tuesday (Oct. 27). The ten-year…
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…
