(a) Upon the filing of the petition in the office of the circuit clerk, the clerk shall prepare a certified copy of the petition and transmit the certified copy to the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission within five (5) days after the date of the filing of the petition.
(b)
(1) Upon receipt of the certified copy, the commission, if it has not already done so, shall begin an investigation of the present and future availability of aquifer water for the county.
(2) The commission shall transmit within sixty (60) days after receipt of the certified copy of the petition a written report of its findings to the clerk of the circuit court.
(c) The report of the commission shall include, but need not be limited to:
(1) A finding as to whether the water shortage of the county, if any, is such that it conforms to the definition of "county" in § 15-22-1203(6);
(2) A finding as to whether the organization of the proposed Sparta Aquifer critical groundwater county conservation board serves to alleviate any such water shortage and would be conducive to the purposes of this subchapter;
(3) A finding that an existing plan is in place, including deadlines for progress, which is reasonably calculated to alleviate the depletion of the Sparta Aquifer and reduce the withdrawal of aquifer water to levels below the safe yield in order to protect the Sparta Aquifer for future use;
(4) A finding that the proposed improvement plan, if implemented, would or would not preserve the groundwater resource for future use; and
(5) Any conditions or recommendations which the commission regards as necessary to the organization of the board and the purposes and powers of the board.
(d)
(1) If the commission makes a finding that an existing plan is in place to preserve the actual groundwater use under subdivision (c)(3) of this section, then the petition shall be held in abeyance, and the commission shall continuously monitor the plan's progress.
(2) However, upon the petition of any twenty (20) persons alleging insufficient progress in the plan, the commission shall conduct a hearing in the county and examine the previous findings.
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