Monsanto settlement money to fund 21 Arkansas waterway projects

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KAIT) - Attorney General Tim Griffin announced $8.4 million in funding Friday for 21 waterway improvement and restoration projects across Arkansas.

The funding comes from the state’s recent settlement with Monsanto over PCB contamination claims.

The funds will help improve water quality, reduce erosion and sedimentation, restore aquatic habitats and preserve waterways for future generations, according to Griffin’s statement in Friday’s news release.

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission projects

The release designates $6.7 million for the following projects through the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission:

• Alum Fork Saline River – Saline County – $350,000
• North Fork Saline River, Zuber Property – Saline County – $350,000
• Eleven Point River, Oxborrow Property – Randolph County – $1 million
• Tice and Wales Properties, War Eagle Creek – Madison County – $250,000
• Centerton Hatchery Spring – Benton County – $250,000
• Mize Crossing, Cossatot River – Sevier County – $750,000
• Big Piney Creek, Hull Property – Pope County – $300,000
• Aurora Crossing, War Eagle Creek – Madison County – $750,000
• Fancher Property – Madison County – $500,000
• Crooked Creek Bank Stabilization – Baxter County – $1 million
• Gulf Mountain Wildlife Management Area – Van Buren County – $150,000
• Little Missouri River – Pike County – $250,000
• Northwest Arkansas Nature Center – Benton County – $250,000
• White River, Wagoner Property – Marion County – $250,000
• Robinson Creek – Polk and Sevier counties – $100,000
• Wilburn Creek, Little Red River – Cleburne County – $100,000
• Hargis Bank Stabilization – Madison County – $100,000

Additional projects

Another $1.7 million will go to additional waterway improvement and conservation projects:

• Friends of Fourche Creek – Pulaski County – $100,000
• Illinois River Watershed Project – Benton County – $100,000
• War Memorial Park Restoration – Pulaski County – $500,000
• Bayou Bartholomew Waterways Project, Inc. – Ashley, Jefferson and Lincoln counties – $1 million

Settlement background

On Oct. 2, Griffin announced a settlement with Monsanto Company, Solutia Inc. and Pharmacia LLC resolving claims that polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, manufactured by Monsanto caused environmental contamination.

Under the settlement agreement, the funds are restricted for purposes related to water quality, the release said.

Statements from Griffin and Sanders

“When I announced our settlement with Monsanto last month, I made clear that these funds would be used to further water quality in Arkansas,” Griffin said in the statement. “Today, we are putting those dollars to work by investing in projects that will make a meaningful difference in waterways across our state.”

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders thanked Griffin in a separate statement.

“Water grows the crops in our fields, supports jobs in our communities, and brings people from across the world to experience the Natural State. Protecting it is an investment in everything that makes Arkansas a great place to live, work, and raise a family,” Sanders said. “I’m grateful to Attorney General Griffin for putting these dollars to work restoring our waterways and helping ensure the water that has shaped Arkansas’ success will sustain it for generations to come.”

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