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Arkansas's Dual Regulatory Structure: A Utility's Guide to Managing ADH and DEQ Compliance
In most states, a water utility answers to a single environmental regulator. In Arkansas, that is not the case. Utilities managing both drinking water and wastewater compliance have to interact with two separate state agencies and navigate two distinct bureaucratic processes, and there is no getting around it.
Two Agencies, Two Programs
ADH and the Safe Drinking Water Program
The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) operates the safe drinking water program, a shared responsibility between ADH and public water systems (PWSs). PWS staff collect samples at the frequency, locations, and within the timeframes required by ADH, and submit those samples to the ADH Division of Public Health Laboratories for analysis. Analysis results are used to determine whether treated water meets federal National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWRs) and state drinking water standards.
DEQ and the NPDES Permit Program
The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment, through its Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ, still often called by its retired name, ADEQ), is responsible for implementing the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit Program, through delegation of primary enforcement authority from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. NPDES Permits issued to wastewater treatment facilities protect the state’s surface water quality, including discharge limits for microbiological and chemical contaminants, monitoring requirements, pretreatment programs, and other mechanisms.
Three Strategies to Simplify Compliance Across Both Agencies
Where Technology Fits
With the development of advanced computing technology, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, tools now exist to help utilities manage tasks, schedules, and deadlines across both programs at once. One specific, high-value example, automating the transfer of laboratory results into Discharge Monitoring Reports for the wastewater side, is significant enough to warrant its own discussion in the companion article, From LIMS to DMR: How Arkansas Utilities Can Eliminate Manual Data Transfer Errors.
How Data Already Flows for Drinking Water
For drinking water compliance, Arkansas public water systems must sample identified locations for required contaminants at specified frequencies and submit those samples to the State Laboratory. The State Laboratory stores the analytical results in a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) that can be accessed to evaluate compliance with NPDWRs. Because of this structure, Arkansas utilities avoid the step of transferring data from a utility or private laboratory on the drinking water side, a built-in efficiency that the wastewater side does not share in the same way.
Keeping Both Programs on Track
Communication, coordination, and efficient implementation will not make Arkansas’s two-agency structure disappear, but they are what keep it from becoming two full-time compliance burdens instead of one well-run program with two reporting relationships. Utilities managing both sides can see how SAMS supports drinking water and wastewater compliance at https://njbsoft.com/sams-platform/
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About The Author
At NJBSoft, we’re proud to collaborate with experts like Robert Hollander, P.E., whose extensive experience in water quality and regulatory compliance allows us to design SAMS in order to meet industry needs. Bob’s leadership and deep industry knowledge supports utilities in staying organized, compliant, and focused on protecting public health every day.
Robert Hollander
- 45 years of experience in water quality, regulatory compliance, and utility management
- President of Hollander Consulting Services
- Held senior roles at the City of Peoria, City of Phoenix, and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
- Served as President of the AZ Water Association and the Western Coalition of Arid States
- Licensed Professional Engineer in Arizona with multiple Grade 3 operator certifications
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