Environment

CFC Priorities for the 2011 Legislative Session

• Implement energy policies to save consumers money, create jobs and combat climate change.  

• Protect Arkansas's water resources by developing a new state water plan that uses the best science and engages a broad range of Arkansans.  

• Require the oil and gas industry to follow existing best management practices to protect landowner rights and Arkansas's water resources.

• Create an Arkansas Renewable Energy Payment Program (AREPP) and a statewide Energy Improvement District (EID).
• Pass a Property Owner Bill of Rights that spells out landowners’ rights when addressing oil and gas company operations and resulting pollution on their property.

Environment Bill Tracking

Past Accomplishments

2009

2007

We were successful with our top environmental priority, the creation of an Arkansas Governor's Commission on Global Warming. Global Warming is an issue that affects everyone and threatens the very sustainability of our quality of life within the next generation if not addressed in a proactive way. This is one of the first truly practical steps toward dealing with climate change on the state level and the Governor and the Legislature should be commended.

We supported an expansion of the "net metering" concept that makes renewable energy more cost effective for consumers.

We opposed bills which sought to give oil companies less responsibility for spills and several other "anti-environmental" bills which only serve to diminish our natural resources. The bills we opposed were either amended to more acceptable forms or defeated.

2005

Defeated a surprise bill that would have gutted protections for central Arkansas’ drinking water. The defeat was largely due to a friendly a Speaker of the House, backed by grassroots groups who mobilized quickly to lobby legislators and hold a rally on the Capitol steps. The Citizens First Congress mailed about 5,000 postcards on the issue and worked closely with Sierra Club, Arkansas Audubon and the Little Rock League of Women Voters who were taking the lead on the campaign

Monitored several other bad pieces of legislation, and one good one, but didn’t play a significant role. All the bad ones were defeated anyway, and the good one (to recycle mercury parts from cars) passed.