LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — Central Arkansas Water and local conservation groups are raising the alarm over recent proposals to mine quartz in the Ouachita National Forest after a Forest Service environmental assessment indicated that proposed mining tracts posed a high risk to regional watersheds and infrastructure.
Proposed mining tracts would be worryingly close to some of the main sources of water for much of central Arkansas—Lake Ouachita, the Saline River, and Lake Winona.
“All of the eight tracts have very serious problems in terms of the risk that they pose for water and for the quality of life and tourism and the flora and fauna of the entire region,” said Carolyn Shearman, vice president of the Ozark Society and local Sierra Club executive committee member…