Bill > SB546

This bill amends Arkansas law regarding water permits for nonmunicipal domestic sewage treatment works (small-scale wastewater treatment facilities not owned by municipalities). The bill makes several key changes: it restricts the issuance of new permits for sewage treatment works located within five miles of a publicly owned treatment works, unless there is a significant pollution threat or no cost-effective alternative exists; eliminates property owners' and homeowners' associations' ability to obtain new permits after January 1, 2018; reduces the initial trust fund contribution fee from 10% to 8% of construction costs (with a maximum of $100,000); changes the timing of when a facility no longer needs to pay trust fund contribution fees (now after the second permit renewal instead of the third); and modifies the fund's collection rules so that annual contribution fees stop being collected when the fund reaches $2.1 million and resume when it drops below $1.5 million. The bill aims to streamline permitting processes for small wastewater treatment facilities, control their proliferation near existing municipal treatment systems, and adjust financial requirements for these facilities. The changes are part of broader environmental regulation of small-scale sewage treatment infrastructure in Arkansas.

Health and Social Services

https://arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/Detail?id=sb546&ddBienniumSession=2025%2F2025R