Dive Brief:

• The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) has served notice to the owners of the Ozark Mountain Regional Solid Waste Management District (WMD) in Baxter County that it is planning to remove over $2.4 million in funding from the landfill.
• The decision is in response to the district's reported failures to set aside necessary funding to be used for future maintenance costs of the site. ADEQ's Notice of Violation and Forfeiture of Financial Assurance was delivered to Mayor Jeff Crockett.
• The mayor told The Baxter Bulletin he doesn't expect the board to appeal. He said "I believe we would rather ADEQ have the money than the bond holders. They could use it to close the landfill and end an environmental threat."

Dive Insight:

The landfill has been a drain on the WMD since it bought the landfill in 2005. The $2.4 million will probably be added to funds from an ADEQ trust opened this week through a legislative directive. The amendment will allow ADEQ to use a some of the $24-million trust to repair and close the landfill, which is estimated to cost between $5 and $6.5 million.