Ark. Code Ann. § 16-105-502 (2026)
Sport shooting ranges
- Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a person who operates or uses a sport shooting range in this state shall not be subject to civil liability or criminal prosecution for noise or noise pollution resulting from the operation or use of the sport shooting range if the sport shooting range is in compliance with noise control ordinances of local units of government that applied to the sport shooting range and its operation at the time the sport shooting range was constructed and began operation.
- A person who operates or uses a sport shooting range is not subject to an action for nuisance, and no court of the state may enjoin the use or operation of a sport shooting range on the basis of noise or noise pollution, if the sport shooting range is in compliance with noise control ordinances of units of local government that applied to the sport shooting range and its operation at the time the sport shooting range was constructed and began operation.
- A person who subsequently acquires title to or who owns real property adversely affected by the use of property with a permanently located sport shooting range shall not maintain a nuisance action against the person who owns the sport shooting range to restrain, enjoin, or impede the use of the sport shooting range unless there has been a substantial change in the nature of the use of the sport shooting range or by a person using the sport shooting range.
- Rules adopted by any state agency for establishing levels of noise allowable in the outdoor atmosphere shall not apply to a sport shooting range exempted from liability under this subchapter.
- Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to limit civil liability except in the limited case of noise pollution.
History. Acts 1997, No. 602, § 2; 2019, No. 315, § 1320.
Amendments. The 2019 amendment deleted “or regulations” following “Rules” in (d).
Case Notes
Immunity from Suit.
Circuit court properly dismissed the neighbors' nuisance lawsuit against a charitable organization's operation of a shooting range on its property because the organization was statutorily immune from suit under this section, where no local noise control ordinances existed at the time the shooting range began operation, and the burden on the neighbors' use of their property, and its diminution in value, was insufficient to rise to the level of a taking under Ark. Const., Art. 2, § 22. 3 Rivers Logistics, Inc. v. Brown-Wright Post No. 158, 2018 Ark. 91, 548 S.W.3d 137 (2018).