Arkansas
Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program
Arkansas's Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program is run by the Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and applications go to the No-Discharge Section of its Water Permits Branch. DEQ says EPA gave Arkansas authority over the program in 1982, making DEQ the main enforcement authority for Class I, III, IV and V wells, except the Class V wells that dispose of spent brine from bromine production. Those wells, and all Class II wells, are regulated by the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission (AOGC). DEQ's No-Discharge Permits Section, working with the Arkansas Department of Health, also permits systems that disperse wastewater below ground.
In a Phase I ESA
ASTM E1527-21 does not name injection well lists among its standard record sources. An injection well or a below-ground wastewater system at a property still says something about how fluids were handled there, and the class tells you which agency to ask.
| Class | Who regulates it, as DEQ's page puts it |
|---|---|
| Class I | DEQ |
| Class II | AOGC |
| Class III | DEQ. DEQ says Arkansas has none at present. |
| Class IV | DEQ. Banned, the page says, by CFR 144.13 and the Commission's Regulation 17, except for groundwater cleanups that EPA or the state authorizes. DEQ says Arkansas has none at present. |
| Class V | DEQ, except the bromine spent brine disposal wells, which AOGC permits |
| Class VI | DEQ says Arkansas has none at present. |
Three Arkansas details shape the search.
- Most Class V wells are shallow. DEQ says most Class V wells are shallow disposal systems that let fluids drain into the ground by gravity, that there are more than 20 subtypes, and that they take a range of nonhazardous fluids. DEQ authorizes some types by rule, case by case, and sets separate inventory requirements for Class V wells used in groundwater remediation.
- Non-domestic wastewater dispersed below ground needs a DEQ permit. DEQ counts as non-domestic any wastewater commercial, industrial or agricultural in origin, other than from food establishments. A facility that disperses it through a subsurface system needs a DEQ permit whatever its flow. DEQ's summary list names only the DEQ permit; its section on non-domestic wastewater adds approval from the Department of Health's Division of Engineering. DEQ names car and truck washes, dog kennels and laundromats as the most common holders. Where such a business is on or near the property, ask whether DEQ's file holds its subsurface disposal permit.
- Domestic systems depend on size. A system for domestic wastewater serving 20 or more people a day needs a DEQ permit and Department of Health approval; one serving fewer than 20 needs only Department of Health approval (the page also calls this a Department of Health permit). DEQ cites Regulation 17.601(9) for leaving single-family septic systems, and non-residential septic systems used only for sanitary waste with capacity for fewer than 20 people, outside the UIC requirements.
DEQ also gives general permit coverage to the surface facilities of saltwater disposal systems that serve the Class II wells AOGC permits.
Where to look a site up
- The pages read link no list of injection wells or subsurface disposal permits. The DEQ Facility and Permit Summary (PDS) is the search DEQ's Databases page offers for a specific facility or permit.
- DEQ's UIC page gives the Underground Injection Control line as 501-682-0650; its Water Permits page gives 501-682-5876.
- For Class II wells and bromine brine disposal wells, DEQ's page links the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission, whose site this handbook does not read.
Getting the file
DEQ takes Freedom of Information Act requests by email at EE.FOIA@arkansas.gov, and its Records Management Section arranges visits to review files. See Records Management and FOIA requests.
Sources
Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality pages, read October 13, 2026, no modified date shown: