Arkansas regulators have asked that an Oklahoma city’s appeal of a wastewater permit get tossed, saying lawyers who filed the appeal are ineligible because they are not licensed in the state.
The challenge to Decatur’s wastewater permit was filed last month by the city of Tulsa. Tulsa argued a permit modification granted by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality earlier this year violated the state’s water pollution standards. Tulsa also said the modified permit violates a 2003 federal settlement agreement among Tulsa, Decatur and several poultry companies over nutrient pollution in the water.
The Department of Environmental Quality argued that since the Tulsa-based attorneys for the permit appeal are not licensed in Arkansas, they’re prohibited from representing the city before the panel taking up the issue…