Arkansas § 15-22-909 - Water rights — Initiation of regulatory authority within critical groundwater areas.

§ 15-22-909. Water rights — Initiation of regulatory authority within critical groundwater areas.

When the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission determines such action to be necessary within a critical groundwater area, it will declare that water rights are required for groundwater withdrawal. Before initiation of the regulatory program, the commission shall describe the proposed action, the reasons therefor, and the recommended boundaries if they differ from the previous critical groundwater area designation. Public hearings shall be held in accord with the Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, § 25-15-201 et seq., and shall be held in each county within the proposed critical groundwater area. After such a declaration, no person shall withdraw groundwater from an existing well or construct a new well within the critical groundwater area without first obtaining a water right. All determinations for the current water year shall have been made by March 1 of the preceding water year. There will be no reduction or limitation for a period of four (4) years of the withdrawal of groundwater from an existing well or a well constructed during the first year following initiation of the regulatory authority and for which a water right is issued under the provisions of § 15-22-910(a).