Protecting Drinking Water in Arkansas
All Arkansans deserve access to safe, affordable, and reliable clean water. Good water infrastructure is vital to a healthy and prosperous state, and much of Arkansas’s is reaching the end of its life cycle. Outdated water infrastructure and water resource management do the most harm to vulnerable citizens including children, the poor, and communities of color who are already suffering from lack of resources. With further investment through existing federal programs, Arkansas can guarantee that our drinking water, and the our communities who consume it, will be as healthy as possible. Prioritizing investments in clean water provides public health benefits and improves our economy. The U.S. Department of Commerce found that every $1 spent on water infrastructure generates nearly $3 in private economic output.
Violations of Water Quality Standards from Gas Production in Arkansas
A new analysis of state inspection records from natural gas drilling and production sites in the Fayetteville Shale contains several startling revelations: The industry is responsible for widespread violations of Arkansas clean water standards; Companies are not following their own standards and best management practices in most cases; The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality is doing little to enforce these violations or ensure corrective actions are taken to protect water supplies.
Model Oil and Gas Laws, Regulations and Ordinances
This report compares protections for land owners, air quality, water quality and public health from the negative impacts of natural gas development using hydraulic fracturing of shale formations, as used in the Arkansas Fayetteville Shale play. The report finds that many states offer their residents stronger safeguards than those found in Arkansas, with a few notable exceptions.
Arkansas in the Balance: Managing the Risks of Shale Gas Development in the Natural State
Natural gas development in Arkansas brings with it economic opportunity, but also significant threats. The individual property rights of many Arkansans are being encroached upon by gas companies. Arkansas’s natural ecosystems and the air, land, and water which we all depend upon for survival—some of the most pristine and abundant in the world—are at serious risk. Gas development must be balanced in a responsible approach that takes advantage of the opportunities created by the industry but also protects Arkansans from the risks of development—a balance that Arkansas has yet to find.