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Between the Lines Blog

The Future of FOIA is Here: New Requirements under Acts 505 and 922 of 2025
Category: Education, Legislative Updates, Municipal and Public Finance
The Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has long been a cornerstone of transparency, ensuring that the public has access to government records and meetings. Acts 505 and 922 of 2025, which took effect on August 5, 2025, significantly amend FOIA to modernize public meeting rules, clarify…
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National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Summer 2025 Meeting Summary
Category: Insurance Regulatory
The Mitchell Williams Insurance Regulatory team of lawyers recently attended the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Summer 2025 National Meeting which was held in Minneapolis, MN. We have prepared a summary of the open sessions conducted over the course of the meeting…
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What Agricultural Landowners Need to Know Now About Leases to Minimize Future Risk
Category: Agriculture
According to the USDA – Economic Research Service, there are approximately 911 million acres of farmland in the lower 48 states, with roughly 60% of this farmland owner-operated and 40% of it leased. For tillable cropland acres specifically, the percentage of rented ground is higher, approximately…
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2025 Arkansas Insurance Legislation Summary: Life
Category: Insurance Regulatory, Legislative Updates
This is the fourth and final article in a series of summaries of Insurance legislation from the 95th Arkansas General Assembly. The 95th Arkansas General Assembly convened on January 13, 2025, and entered into an extended recess on April 16, 2025. The resolution authorizing the extended recess…
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State Air Trends & Successes: Association of Air Pollution Control Agencies Issues 2025 Report
The Association of Air Pollution Control Agencies ("AAPCA") issued the 2025 edition of its annual report titled: State Air Trends & Successes ("Report"). AAPCA describes itself as a: ...National Small Land, non-profit consensus-driven organization focused on assisting state and local air…
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Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law Blog

Natural Resource Damages/CERCLA: Federal Appellate Court Addresses Scope
Category: Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
Co-Author Max McCaslain The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (“Ninth Circuit”) addressed in a September 3rd Opinion an issue associated with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) term “natural resources.” See Confederated Tribes of the Colville…
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Citizen Suit Action/Clean Air Act: Sierra Club Judicial Action Alleging U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Failure to Address PM2.5 Attainment Status for San Joaquin Valley
Category: Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
The Sierra Club and other organizations filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (“Court”) a September 2nd Complaint for Injunctive and Declaratory Relief (“Complaint”) against the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) alleging a failure to…
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Wastewater Enforcement: Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment - Division of Environmental Quality and Lonoke County Wastewater Facility Enter into Consent Administrative Order
Category: Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment - Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) and Furlow Waste Water Public Facilities Board (“Furlow”) entered into a July 30th Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressing alleged violations of a Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge…
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Biosolids/Clean Water Act: Federal Court Addresses Citizen Suit Action Against U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Alleging Failure to Address PFAS
Category: Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
The United States District for the District of Columbia (“Court”) addressed in a September 29th Memorandum Opinion and Order (“Memorandum”) an action against the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), and intervenor-defendant National Association of Clean Water Agencies (“NACWA”)…
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Transportation/Hazardous Materials: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Interpretive Letter Addressing Shipping Paper Preparation
Category: Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
The United States Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (“PHMSA”) transmitted a September 30th Interpretive Letter clarifying the Hazardous Materials Regulations (“HMR”) applicable to the preparation of shipping papers. See Reference No. 25-0103. PHMSA was responding to a July 23rd…
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