(a) Any person who fails to timely register groundwater withdrawals as required by law and this part shall, in addition to registration fees, pay reporting fees for late registration as follows:
- (1) Failure to register by March 1, written notice;
- (2) Failure to register by April 1, twenty-five-dollar fee;
- (3) Failure to register by June 30, fifty-dollar fee; and
- (4) Failure to register by September 30, one hundred-dollar fee.
- (b) Conservation districts shall not accept late registration without payment of all applicable fees.
- (c) Late registration penalties are to be assessed per registrant, not per well.
- (d) The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, by the Director of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, may assess fees as provided by Arkansas Code § 15-22-302 if it is determined that a registrant continues to fail to register following September 30.
- (e) The maximum annual penalty per registrant is five hundred dollars ($500) whether for ground or surface water use or both.
- (f) The commission will not impose monetary penalties without proof that the late registrant has received notice of the registration requirement.
(g) Pursuant to Arkansas Code § 15-22-911(e)(3), a water right may be cancelled for failure to:
- (1) Report water use for two (2) consecutive years under Arkansas Code § 15-22-302; or
- (2) Pay the fee as set out in Arkansas Code § 15-22-913 for two (2) consecutive years.