HB1015

House Bill 1015 amends the Arkansas Water and Air Pollution Control Act to modify the regulation of nonmunicipal domestic sewage treatment works. Specifically, the bill creates a new exemption for property owners' associations (POAs) and homeowners' associations (HOAs) that operate such treatment works, provided they serve a population exceeding 5,000 individuals. This exemption allows these specific entities to be eligible for permit actions under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) or state-level permits. Existing law generally restricts the Division of Environmental Quality from issuing, renewing, or transferring permit coverage for nonmunicipal domestic sewage treatment works to POAs and HOAs after January 1, 2018. By adding this population-based threshold, the bill allows larger associations to continue operating or updating their sewage treatment permit status under state law.