Arkansas Administrative Code

15 CAR § 22-305. Hearing officer. The Director of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission or his or her designee shall: (1) Preside at hearings on applications; and (2) Have the powers granted presiding officers by the Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, Arkansas Code § 25-1…

15 CAR § 22-401. Procedures generally. (a) The applicant shall: (1) Submit a master plan in the same form as applications for approval of other projects; and (2) Specify a time frame for constructing each phase of the proposed project. (b) The Arkansas Natural Resources Commissio…

15 CAR § 22-402. Effect of approval. (a) If the Director of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission approves the master plan, the applicant shall construct the project in the timeframe and manner approved in the master plan. (b) Upon notice to the applicant and opportunity for …

15 CAR § 22-403. Additional reporting requirements. (a) As each project listed in a master plan is developed for construction, the applicant shall notify the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission. (b) If the scope of work represents a significant departure from the master plan, t…

15 CAR § 22-501. Protection of service areas. It is unlawful for a person to provide water or wastewater services to an area where such services are being provided by a current provider that has pledged or uses revenue derived from services within the area to repay financial assi…

15 CAR § 22-502. Conditional approval based on partial payment to the commission. (a) As a condition of its approval, the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission may require the payment of an equitable portion of the outstanding financial assistance provided. (b) Any payment made s…

15 CAR § 22-503. Approval process. (a) Upon agreement of the providers exchanging territory, the providers shall submit a written proposal to the Director of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission for consideration. (b) The proposal may be made part of an application for proje…

15 CAR § 22-601. Procedures generally. (a)(1) Prior to acquiring rural water or wastewater service properties, facilities, and customers pursuant to Arkansas Code § 14-208-102, a municipality shall receive approval from the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission that the action co…

15 CAR § 22-701. Compliance criteria. The Director of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission shall not approve any application unless he or she determines that the project: (1) Complies with and implements the goals and objectives of the Arkansas Water Plan; and (2) Adequately…

15 CAR § 22-702. Determination of compliance. (a) The Director of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission may approve all or part of an application. (b) An applicant may refile at any time any application, or part thereof, that has been disapproved if the director determines th…

15 CAR § 22-703. Notice of decision. A copy of the decision shall be provided to the applicant and to any aggrieved party so requesting.

15 CAR § 22-704. Incorporation into Arkansas Water Plan. Upon approval of the application, the: (1) Project shall constitute an amendment of the Arkansas Water Plan; and (2) Arkansas Water Plan shall be deemed amended accordingly.

15 CAR § 22-801. Request for review by commission. (a) Any decision of the Director of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission may be reviewed by the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission pursuant to the procedure set out in Subpart 5 of Rules of Organization and General Operat…

15 CAR § 23-1001. Emergency action plans required. An emergency action plan must be prepared by the owner for all permitted high hazard dams.

15 CAR § 23-1002. Approval of emergency action plans required. Written approval of the Chief Engineer of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission must be obtained for all EAPs.

15 CAR § 23-1003. Contents of emergency action plans. (a) Site conditions will dictate exact contents of specific EAPs. (b) Guidelines for preparation of EAPs are available from the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission.

15 CAR § 23-1004. Annual exercises and drills. (a) Implementation of EAPs must include at least: (1) One (1) tabletop exercise per year; and (2) One (1) test drill every three (3) years. (b) The Chief Engineer of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission must be notified at least…

15 CAR § 23-101. Purpose. (a) Provide for the comprehensive regulation and supervision of dams for the protection of the health, safety, welfare, and property of the citizens of Arkansas. (b) Assure proper planning, design, construction, maintenance, monitoring, and supervision o…

15 CAR § 23-102. Definitions. Unless clearly indicated by context, the following words and terms, when used in this part, shall have meanings as defined below: (1) “Billing volume” means normal storage designed to contain sediment accumulation over the life of the dam; (2) “Chief…

15 CAR § 23-103. Scope. All dams within the State of Arkansas, except those owned by the United States Government or those exempted by 15 CAR § 23-104, must have a valid construction and operation permit issued under the provisions of this part.

15 CAR § 23-104. Exemptions. Dams meeting any of the following criteria are not subject to rules contained in this part unless 15 CAR § 23-105 is successfully invoked: (1) Dams with height less than twenty-five feet (25’); (2) Dams with normal storage less than fifty acre-feet (5…

15 CAR § 23-105. Petition by affected persons. (a) Persons who believe themselves or their property to be endangered by failure of a dam that is below the size requirements specified in 15 CAR § 23-104 may file a petition requesting that the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission …

15 CAR § 23-106. Duties, obligations, and liabilities of dam owners. Nothing in this part shall be construed to relieve an owner or operator of a dam or reservoir of the legal duties, obligations, or liabilities incident to ownership or operation.

15 CAR § 23-107. No liability by commission, employees, or agents. No action shall be brought against the state or the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission or its employees or agents for the recovery of damages caused by the partial or total failure of any dam or reservoir or th…

15 CAR § 23-108. Exceptions. (a) The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission may grant exceptions to requirements contained within this part. (b) Any variance from this part must be supported by written approval of the Director of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission setting f…

15 CAR § 23-1101. Approval of plans required. Prior to removal, a plan for removal and revegetation must be approved by the Chief Engineer of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission.

15 CAR § 23-1102. Notice to downstream landowners. Downstream landowners must be notified of the proposed action if any measure of flood protection would be lost due to the removal of the dam.

15 CAR § 23-1103. Rights of other landowners. Downstream landowners and those adjacent to the reservoir have the right to notice of projected changes in streamflow patterns or reservoir levels but do not have the right to continued benefits at the dam owner’s expense, unless the …

15 CAR § 23-1104. Procedure for breaching. The procedure for breaching must adequately guard against downstream: (1) Flooding; (2) Erosion; and (3) Sedimentation.

15 CAR § 23-1105. Restoration of original stream channel. Dimensions of the final cut through the dam must be defined in the plan and must be of sufficient size to prevent impounding water when streamflow equals the one hundred-year flood.

15 CAR § 23-1106. Erosion protection. The plan must provide for establishment of vegetation or other erosion protection measures sufficient to guard against deposition of excessive sediment off site.

15 CAR § 23-201. Construction permit. A permit issued by the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission is required prior to construction of any dam not exempted under 15 CAR § 23-103 or § 23-104.

15 CAR § 23-202. Operation permit. (a)(1) Before water is deliberately impounded by closing drain gates on a newly constructed dam, an operation permit must be issued by the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission. (2) An operation permit will be issued by the Chief Engineer of the…

15 CAR § 23-203. Transfer of permit. (a) Within six (6) months after change of ownership of a permitted dam, the new owner shall notify the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission. (b) The commission shall issue a dam permit in the name of the new owner.

15 CAR § 23-204. Water plan compliance. (a) Filing of an application to permit a proposed dam also serves as filing for Water Plan Compliance Certification as described in 15 CAR § 22-205. (b) The water plan compliance process may run concurrently with the dam permit review.…

15 CAR § 23-205. Application. Applicants for dam permits must provide all applicable information requested on the form supplied by the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission.

15 CAR § 23-206. Commission review. (a) Upon receipt of application for dam permit, the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission staff will review data presented to determine compliance with: (1) State law; (2) Commission rules; and (3) Accepted engineering practices. (b) If necessa…

15 CAR § 23-207. Public notice. (a) Upon completion of Arkansas Natural Resources Commission review, the Director of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission will cause a public notice to be published two (2) times, one (1) week apart. (b) The public notice will be placed in a n…

15 CAR § 23-208. Public hearing. (a) If requested, the Director of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission shall cause a public hearing to be conducted within the county in which the dam is/will be located. (b) Said hearing will be for the purpose of: (1) Describing the propose…

15 CAR § 23-209. Commission action. (a) If no public hearing is requested as a result of the public notice, the Director of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission will either approve or deny the permit request. (b) If a public hearing is requested as a result of the public not…

15 CAR § 23-301. Estimated application review fees. Any application for permitting a proposed dam after March 24, 1993, shall be accompanied by a check for one percent (1%) of the estimated construction cost of the dam or one hundred dollars ($100), whichever is greater, except t…

15 CAR § 23-302. Final cost report. The owner shall provide to the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission a report of actual construction costs within forty-five (45) days after completion of construction.

15 CAR § 23-303. Final application review fees. (a) If the estimated application review fee exceeds the fee based on actual construction cost, an amount equal to the difference will be refunded. (b) If the fee based on construction cost exceeds the estimated application review fe…

15 CAR § 23-304. Annual permit fee. (a) The annual permit fee shall be computed as specified in Arkansas Code § 15-22-219, as may be amended from time to time. (b) Excerpt from Arkansas Code § 15-22-219: “(b)(1) Any person obtaining a permit under the provisions of § 15-22-210, i…

15 CAR § 23-401. Notice of nonemergency deficiency. (a) Upon discovery of a deficiency that does not immediately threaten the dam’s safety, the Chief Engineer of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission will issue a letter: (1) Specifying actions necessary to remedy the problem;…

15 CAR § 23-402. Public hearings. (a) In the event remedial measures for nonemergency deficiencies cannot be accomplished through the means of consent orders, the Director of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission shall cause a public hearing to be conducted to: (1) Present th…

15 CAR § 23-403. Commission orders. After review of findings of the public hearing, the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission may issue orders compelling specified actions.

15 CAR § 23-404. Penalties. (a) Noncompliance with Arkansas Natural Resources Commission rules or disregard of commission orders may result in fines up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000). (b) In general, penalties will be set by doubling the costs incurred by the commission.…

15 CAR § 23-405. Emergency remedial orders. (a) Upon discovery of a condition that renders a dam subject to rapid failure, the Director of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission may issue an Emergency Remedial Order describing actions that must be taken to protect life and pro…

15 CAR § 23-406. Appeals. Actions by the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission may be appealed as described in Subpart 5 of Organization and General Operation of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, 15 CAR pt. 1.