§ 12-63-402 - Adjutant General as custodian.
12-63-402. Adjutant General as custodian.
(a) The Adjutant General of the State of Arkansas is the custodian of all military property and military reservations located within the State of Arkansas, and which are owned, leased, licensed, operated, occupied, or maintained by the State of Arkansas for the purpose of training the active or reserve military forces of the United States or any of any state.
(b) (1) The Adjutant General is not the custodian of any military property or military reservation which is reserved to the exclusive legislative jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United States or which is reserved to exclusive legislative authority of the United States Secretary of the Army, United States Secretary of the Navy, or United States Secretary of the Air Force, pursuant to the Constitution and laws of the United States.
(2) Specifically, the Adjutant General is not the custodian of Little Rock Air Force Base and Pine Bluff Arsenal, except such parts thereof that are owned, leased, licensed, operated, occupied, or maintained pursuant to a deed, lease, license, or agreement for the exclusive control by the Adjutant General and units of the Arkansas Army National Guard or Arkansas Air National Guard, in accordance with the respective agreements between the Adjutant General and the Secretary of the Army or the Secretary of the Air Force.
(c) (1) The Adjutant General shall not enter into or accept any contract, deed, license, lease, permit, memorandum of understanding, memorandum of agreement, obligation, gift, or donation of any real property whereby the State of Arkansas shall incur or undertake to incur financial liability for or assume financial liability with, or for, or on behalf of an agency or instrumentality of the United States, for such agency's or instrumentality's past or continuing violation or violations of:
(A) The environmental protection laws of the State of Arkansas or of theUnited States;
(B) The laws, regulations, rules, or orders of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality or the United States Environmental Protection Agency; or
(C) Any other law, regulation, rule, or order of any agency and instrumentality of the State of Arkansas or of the United States which is charged with the responsibility of enforcing the environmental law.
(2) This prohibition shall not be applicable if:
(A) The Adjutant General shall be authorized by federal law or regulation to accept such responsibility for remediation of past or continuing violations and the Adjutant General is provided, appropriated, allocated, or apportioned adequate funds from the United States required to remediate such violations;
(B) The Attorney General, after conferring with the Director of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, shall advise the Governor in writing that the potential financial liability of the state for environmental remediation is de minimus, and if the Governor shall so approve and concur in the Attorney General's advice; or
(C) The laws of the United States prescribe and fix sole financial liability for such violation or violations upon an agency or instrumentality of the United States to the exclusion of the state.