Arkansas § 15-22-301 - Duties of commission.

§ 15-22-301. Duties of commission.

The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission shall: Inventory the surface water resources and underground water resources within this state; Determine the surface water requirements for fish and wildlife; Determine the surface water requirements for navigation; Establish minimum stream flows; Determine the water needs of public water supplies; Determine the water needs for industry; Determine the water needs for agriculture, taking into account the decreasing groundwater tables and the resulting future needs for surface water to augment groundwater supplies; Determine the water needs of all other users; Propose a definition of critical water areas and delineate areas which are now critical or which will be critical within the next thirty (30) years; Define the term “excess surface water” and determine the quantity of the excess surface water within the state and where it is located; Define the term “safe yield” of a stream, river, or river basin, and a groundwater aquifer; Report periodically to the House Committee on Agriculture, Forestry, and Economic Development and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Forestry, and Economic Development; Declare and delineate surplus or excess surface water areas within the state based on a determination that surface water in a defined geographic area is in excess of the amount required for the foreseeable economic development needs of the defined geographic area; Develop guidelines for evaluation of any proposed interbasin transfers in order that the areas of origin would be protected from serious adverse effects during periods of low streamflow; and Develop guidelines for determining the amount of compensation, if any, to interested parties within the area of origin who incur damages as a result of a proposed transfer, including claims of individual water rights holders, adverse effects upon the political subdivisions involved, and adverse environmental effects.