EAPDD is integrally involved in waste management activities within the 12 county region. The majority of these activities are in direct response to initiatives of the State of Arkansas in the planning for and enforcement of solid waste management systems. Act 870 of 1989, as amended, mandated the creation of solid waste management districts across the state, with the responsibilities for assessing the solid waste needs and devising plans to meet those needs.

Identification and Enforcement

Open, unregulated dumps have been both an eyesore and health problem in rural areas for a number of years. Illegal dumping activity still occurs in every county in the EARSWMD, even in those counties with mailbox pick-up of household waste. EARSWMD is charged with:

• Identifying illegal dumps, as part of the on-going needs assessment process. This is accomplished through a variety of methods, including referral, site inspections, and coordination with the inspection and enforcement activities of the Arkansas Department of Pollution Control & Ecology
• Providing assistance in the enforcement of closure of these illegal dumps. Individual counties are charged with the responsibility of eliminating these dumpsites; actual enforcement is through the sheriff's department in each county, the Arkansas Forestry Commission, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, and the Arkansas Department of Pollution Control & Ecology. EARSWMD will, on request, notify offenders of the steps required to clean up the dump and the legal consequences for failure to do so.