Arkansas Environmental Quality Act

This act establishes a comprehensive framework for state environmental protection, consolidating authority over air, water, and land pollution control in a single environmental agency headed by a secretary with rulemaking, permitting, and enforcement powers. Its core mechanism is a permit system — covering permits, licenses, registrations, and variances, with application review standards, fees, transfer and disclosure requirements, and expedited handling in some circumstances — backed by inspections, monitoring requirements, and administrative and judicial enforcement, including appeal rights from agency action. It also builds in public participation and accountability provisions, such as public hearings and notice on permit applications and rulemaking, citizen suits, whistleblower protection for employees who report violations, toxic release reporting, environmental justice considerations, and emergency response authority.

Editorial summary generated from the text of this act. It is not part of the statute — read the sections below for the operative language.