LITTLE ROCK — When he opened Arkansas’ first commercial zip line in 2010, Mike Mills said he called several state agencies asking if the Buffalo River Canopy Tour needed to be inspected.
“I asked all over the state, ‘Are there any regulations for a zip-line canopy tour?’” Mills said. “The answer I kept getting was ‘No.’”
Three months after starting the zip line at the Buffalo Outdoor Center near Ponca, an inspector from the Arkansas Department of Labor showed up at Mills’ store and slapped a thick stack of regulations on the counter.
“It was like the Gestapo had shown up,” Mills said. “The one place I didn’t call was the Department of Labor.”
Mills said he read the documents, and “zip lines” were never mentioned. The regulations were for “amusement rides.”
Mills doesn’t consider his zip-line operation an amusement ride, but the state of Arkansas does.
Since Mills opened his canopy tour, the Department of Labor has been inspecting zip lines under Arkansas Code Annotated 23-89-504 through 23-89-506.
The law defines an amusement ride as “any mechanical device which carries or conveys passengers along, around or over a fixed route or course or within a defined area for the purpose of giving the passengers amusement, pleasure, thrills or excitement.”
The law goes into detail about “bungee rides” and climbing walls, but it hasn’t been changed since 2005.
Nine fixed zip lines have opened in Arkansas since 2010 and more are planned. New regulations are in the works to specifically address zip lines in Arkansas.
Zip lines allow people to glide through the treetops at speeds sometimes approaching 60 mph. Passengers sit in a harness attached by a trolley to one or two cables, with gravity providing the zip from a platform in one tree to the next.
Since the Labor Department began inspecting zip lines in August 2010, 90 citations have been written.
Denise Oxley, general counsel for the department, said amusement-law regulations have been rewritten to include zip lines.
“They’ll actually be state regulations and enforceable,” Oxley said. “Right now, we’re doing those inspections ... [but the] standards aren’t in place yet. The proposed regulations will enhance enforcement in the sense that they specifically address zip lines. They are device-specific.”
Enforcement options are “limited” until the new regulations are in place, she said.
The main infractions resulting in fines are failure to get a safety inspection and failure to maintain proper insurance, both of which are mentioned in the state law.
“Those are statutory requirements and are not dependent upon the new regulations,” Oxley said.
PROPOSED REGULATIONS
A draft of the new regulations shows that zip lines would have to conform to “Challenge Course and Canopy/Zip Line Tour Standards, seventh edition.” It’s an 84-page booklet published in 2008 by the Association for Challenge Course Technology that includes information for installation, inspection and operation of zip lines. The association was formed in 1993 to set standards for the industry.
Oxley said the Labor Department uses the standards to inspect zip lines. Inspections must be done twice a year, and zip-line operators must have enough liability insurance to cover a $1 million per-accident legal judgment.
So far, only one zip-line operator has been fined, Family Farm Christian Day Camp near Malvern, and that was for not having enough insurance at the camp, which has several activities besides a zip line.
The proposed regulations were submitted Wednesday to the Arkansas Department of Economic Development, which has 10 days to comment on them. If approved there, the regulations will go to several other state agencies and through a 30-day public comment period before final approval, which could happen by June 1, Oxley said.
James Borishade, executive director of the association, said zip lines shouldn’t all be lumped into the category of amusement rides.
He said there are two types of zip lines: challenge courses, which have been around since the 1940s and are for educational, recreational or therapeutic use; and zip lines that are meant to thrill. Long zip lines that are meant to thrill riders have been popular in the U.S. since about 2000 and should be classified as amusement rides, he said.
“It really isn’t a one-size fits-all,” Borishade said.
FINES MORE SEVERE
Mills said it would be easy for someone to build a zip line and begin operating it on the assumption that there are no state regulations, as he did, but that could be costly.
According to the draft regulations, the fine for not notifying the state of plans to operate a zip line is $2,500. The fine for not having a state safety inspection is $2,500. Operating without the required liability insurance could result in a $5,000 fine. Those fines apply to all amusement rides. Criminal charges could also apply, depending on the circumstances.
Horseshoe Canyon Ranch’s 2,300-foot zip line is Arkansas’ longest, said Johnson, who owns the dude ranch. Johnson said the business had Arkansas’ first zip line in 2000, but it was only for people who were staying at the ranch. Now, a larger zip line is open to the public.
“For years, we were just operating illegally, apparently,” Johnson said. “Then the state said, ‘Hey, we’re supposed to be inspecting you.’”
Will Roberts said he and business partner Robert Nickell are putting in an even longer zip line in Carroll County.Ozark Mountain Ziplines at Eureka Springs will have 10 cables, the longest of which will be more than 2,400 feet, Roberts said.
Roberts said Arkansas’ regulations are “stringent.” Some states don’t have any, he said.
Arkansas has another six permanent zip lines, Oxley said. They are: Zippin Griffin at Griffin Park near Hardy, Fort Rock Family Camp near St. Paul, Loco Ropes at Ozark Folk Center State Park near Mountain View, The Zip Lines at Ouachita Bend in Hot Springs, Rowdy Adventures in Okolona and Timber Lodge Ranch near Amity. (The last two are in Clark County.)
There are also three portable zip lines that operate in Arkansas: Amusement Masters, Extreme Fun Spot and GMB.
Each zip line has different rules, but weight restrictions for passengers are generally from 75 to 275 pounds.
Arkansas, Pages 7 on 01/28/2013