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Marion County town hall outlines Arkansas law, setback rules and legal limits for local wind projects
Summary
At a Marion County town hall, county JP Tommy Dean Johnson and attorney John Russo explained Arkansas’s Wind Energy Development Act (Act 945) and told residents counties may adopt stricter ordinances but cannot impose blanket bans without legal risk.
Marion County — At a packed town hall called by Justice of the Peace Tommy Dean Johnson, county residents heard a legal briefing on state rules governing wind energy projects and what local officials can and cannot do to limit them.
Tommy Dean Johnson, Marion County justice of the peace for District 9, opened the meeting by saying the session was educational and that he had found no active wind-permit applications for Marion County. He introduced attorney John Russo to explain the state law that now frames permitting and notice requirements.
John Russo, an attorney attending remotely, said the Arkansas Wind Energy Development Act (referred to in the meeting as Act 945 and originally Senate Bill 437) is codified beginning at "23 dash 18 dash 13 01" and contains detailed requirements for notice, setbacks and environmental review.…
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