Senate bars new moratoriums on permits in watersheds, adopts bill after heated debate

Senate Bill 290, carried by Senator Blake Johnson, passed the Arkansas Senate as concurred after floor debate and an amendment was adopted. The bill prohibits moratoria on the issuance of permits and other limits on agricultural production in watersheds and other bodies of water; sponsors said the measure is intended to keep permit processes open to producers and prevent agencies from blocking individual permit applications by imposing blanket moratoria.

Supporters told the chamber the bill gives the Legislature a review role if state agencies attempt to use rules or moratoria to stop permitting. “This gives this body the ability to have a voice in whether the moratorium is going to be placed,” Senator Blake Johnson said in closing remarks, saying the measure helps agriculture producers "in all bodies of water and all streams throughout Arkansas except for those that are in place now." That exception for existing moratoria was repeated on the floor.

Opponents and several speakers with agricultural experience expressed concern about the bill's scope and timing. Senator King, who identified himself as a long‑time confined animal feeding operation (CAFO) operator, described decades of shifting regulation and said he did not trust the process around the bill. “I am voting present on this bill because simply I do not trust this whole process,” King said. He urged more debate and said the measure had “flip‑flopped” in drafting.

During floor questions, senators pressed whether the bill would require agencies to approve individual applications; sponsors said it would not compel approval but would give the Legislature a means to reject agency moratoria when they were proposed. “Does your bill in any way as amended say that they have to approve the applications? ... Each application will just get looked at individually. Correct?” Senator Payton asked. The sponsor replied that it does not require approval of applications, only that the body could say no to proposed moratoria.

The Senate first concurred in Amendment 1 (voice vote) and then approved the bill on a roll call of 25 yeas, 6 nays and 4 present. The transcript records senators changing or clarifying votes during the roll call. After the vote the body directed the bill to enrollment.

The debate highlighted recurring tensions in Arkansas over regulation of animal feeding operations, watershed protection and local economic reliance on agriculture. Supporters framed the bill as a protective measure for producers; opponents cited the complexity of watershed regulation and urged more deliberative process and clearer limits on agency action.

The bill now moves to the enrollment process to be transmitted to the governor for signature or veto.