Lawmakers Hear Calls to Repeal Act 8 51 as Arkansas Residents Cite Water, Noise and Control Concerns

An Arkansas Senate committee heard hours of testimony urging changes to the state law known in testimony as "act 8 51," with local officials and residents asking lawmakers to repeal the measure and restore local authority over cryptocurrency mining.

Justice Redding, a justice of the peace who said he investigated proposed mining operations in Boone County and Harrison, told the committee those operations sometimes use front companies and foreign ownership structures that complicate oversight. "We need to set up some type of enforcement on the front end," he said, arguing for permitting and criminal-investigation capacity to identify owners and prevent illicit activity.

Tammy Hornbeck, chair of a citizens committee in DeWitt, described a facility sited about a mile outside DeWitt in a critical groundwater area and said residents "couldn't find anything positive" about the mine's local benefits. She raised concerns about irrigation, the electrical grid, noise and unclear plans for water discharge.

Farmer and consultant Jerry Lee Bogart told lawmakers the Grand Prairie and eastern Arkansas depend on the Sparta aquifer and warned that adding a high-demand electrical user could cause brownouts during peak irrigation months. He urged a moratorium on new mines and restrictions on existing operations while the state reviews impacts.

Committee members pressed whether current state law tied local hands. Senators and representatives on the panel discussed numeric standards versus vague "disturbance" language in county ordinances. Several witnesses and legislators recommended either repealing Act 8 51 or amending it to allow counties and cities to adopt enforceable rules and a state permitting function with front-end review.

The committee chair said company representatives had been invited to testify and will be given a rebuttal opportunity at a follow-up meeting. No formal vote or bill action occurred at the session.

The committee plans to continue consideration next week, when invited company representatives may respond to concerns raised by residents and local officials.