The bill amends Arkansas law concerning real property by introducing a new subchapter focused on Agricultural Impact Remediation Agreements. This subchapter defines key terms related to agricultural land and commercial renewable energy facilities, including "agricultural impact remediation agreement," "construction," and "deconstruction." It mandates that owners of commercial renewable energy facilities on agricultural land must enter into these agreements with landowners, outlining standards for construction and deconstruction to ensure the restoration of agricultural land after the facility's operation. Additionally, the agreements must be submitted to the Department of Agriculture at least 45 days prior to construction and must include a comprehensive deconstruction plan with financial assurances for the landowner.
The bill also stipulates that the terms of the agricultural impact remediation agreements can be modified by existing agreements between the landowner and the renewable energy facility owner. Importantly, it clarifies that this new subchapter and its terms will not affect any underlying agreements for commercial renewable energy facilities that were established before the effective date of this legislation.