Tulsa challenges Arkansas wastewater permit over drinking water pollution concerns

The Decatur, Arkansas, wastewater treatment plan on a mist-shrouded morning in early June 2025. (Photo by Arshia Khan for Arkansas Advocate)

The City of Tulsa is challenging an Arkansas agency’s decision to modify a Northwest Arkansas wastewater treatment plant’s permit, arguing the change could increase pollution in the watershed that supplies the city’s drinking water.

The permit for Decatur’s wastewater treatment plant – which receives waste from Centerton and a nearby Simmons Foods facility – was modified to expand capacity to more than 5.3 million gallons per day amid rising flows. The plant discharges into streams feeding Lakes Eucha and Spavinaw, Tulsa’s primary water sources.

Tulsa argues the expansion should not move forward while Decatur remains out of compliance with its federal Clean Water Act permit. The city entered a consent order with the Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ) last year over repeated violations, which Tulsa says have continued. In comments submitted to DEQ, Tulsa warned the added capacity could result in higher phosphorus levels and said Decatur has not addressed “choke points” in treatment processes or requirements for waste pretreatment.

The dispute centers on a 2003 federal settlement stemming from a lawsuit Tulsa filed against Decatur and six poultry companies over phosphorus pollution in the lakes. Tulsa says the modified permit violates the terms of that agreement and DEQ’s own water quality standards. The city requested an administrative hearing before the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission, calling the agency’s approval “arbitrary and capricious.”

Administrative appeals of permits are rare; this is the first challenge to come before the commission since 2023. DEQ and Decatur officials did not respond to requests for comment.

EPA data shows phosphorus discharges from the plant nearly tripled between 2010 and 2024, with the largest increases occurring since 2020. Tulsa says its own sampling data from Columbia Hollow Creek shows elevated phosphorus and E. coli levels this year, signaling ongoing treatment issues at the plant.

In October, Tulsa warned of potential litigation if the permit change remained in place, saying additional flow “will only result in greater pollution” and threatens the region’s drinking water.

The challenge comes as Arkansas and Oklahoma continue longstanding legal disputes over phosphorus pollution tied to poultry operations in the Illinois River watershed. A federal judge ruled in favor of Oklahoma in 2023, though a final decision in the case has not yet been issued.

For original reporting from Arkansas Advocate, click here.

Tulsa challenges Arkansas wastewater permit over drinking water pollution concerns

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