Officials crack down on disturbing practice after residents raise health concerns: 'I'm tired of people living like that'

An unpleasant odor in one Arkansas county has prompted legislators to freshen things up. 

It was just one of the many environmental concerns addressed during the 2025 legislative session. The legislation would tackle a problem residents have been complaining about for months — a waste lagoon in Crawford County. 

According to Successful Farming, a waste disposal company called Denali Water Solutions uses the area to store and apply waste from chicken processing plants to farmland as fertilizer. Unfortunately, the harmful odors from the open-air lagoon have left residents unhappy.  

The legislation requires the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment's Division of Environmental Quality to impose the maximum penalty when those with permission to apply industrial biosolids do so near a rain event.

Rep. Brad Hall, a sponsor of the bill, said Denali promised to shut down the waste lagoon by the beginning of 2026. However, Successful Farming reported that a Denali representative said the company did not commit to a timeline. 

"I'm tired of people living like that," Hall said. "It's ridiculous. I mean, it's obscene. They [Denali] don't have to live like that where they live, so they shouldn't expect everybody else to live like that."

The Natural Resources Defense Council said manure management is responsible for 12% of agricultural air pollution in the United States, per data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Heat-trapping pollution ultimately contributes to a warming planet, rising sea levels, and extreme weather events. 

Agricultural air pollution also poses a problem for public health. When manure emits ammonia into the atmosphere, it combines with other air pollutants and creates dangerous particles that can lead to heart and lung problems in humans. It may even lead to death. 

Researchers around the world continue to look for ways to prevent ammonia from polluting the air. Experts in China have used artificial intelligence to study certain crops and fertilizers in an effort to reduce pollution. Meanwhile, scientists in Utah tried using nuclear energy to make cleaner ammonia. 

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