(a) The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission may authorize the transportation of excess surface water to nonriparians of such surface water for their use.
(b) “Excess surface water” means twenty-five percent (25%) of that amount of water available on an average annual basis from any watershed above that amount, as determined by the commission, required to satisfy all of the following:
(1) Existing riparian rights as of June 28, 1985;
(2) The water needs of federal water projects existing on June 28, 1985;
(3) The firm yield of all reservoirs in existence on June 28, 1985;
(4) Maintenance of instream flows for fish and wildlife, water quality, aquifer recharge requirements, and navigation; and
(5) Future water needs of the basin of origin as projected in the state water plan developed pursuant to § 15-20-207 and § 15-22-501 et seq.
(c) All applications for transfer of water to nonriparians shall be evaluated by the commission in terms of the reasonableness of the proposed nonriparian use, including, but not limited to:
(1) The availability at reasonable cost of alternative sources of water for the proposed use;
(2) The environmental impact of the proposed transfer; and
(3) The nature and extent of the impact of the transfer on other water uses.
(d)
(1) As a condition of granting the transfer authority, the commission may require the applicants to contract for the transportation of a specific quantity of water, for a specific period, at a reasonable price to users within the immediate vicinity of the proposed route of transportation.
(2) The term “reasonable price” means only the cost of transportation of the water, not the water itself.
(e) For purposes of transfer of the excess surface water, as defined in subsection (b) of this section, in the White River Basin, the transfer amount shall not exceed on a monthly basis an amount which is fifty percent (50%) of the monthly average of each individual month of excess surface water.