In June, the Republic of Arizona reported that the Department of Homeland Security had struck a sweet deal with a Saudi Arabian company called Fondmonte to grow alfalfa on farms in the Butler Valley near Bows and send it back to the Middle East to be fed to cattle. rice field.
Fondmonte only pays $25 per acre annually, according to experts interviewed by the Republic and the state’s own collective assessment of the Butler Valley and surrounding areas. This is about one-sixth the market price of farmland in the area.
In addition, the water being pumped by Fondmonte is in so-called transfer ponds, and the water sucked up from the ground can be sent to areas of the state where groundwater is regulated. The water in the
Land Service employees say the water pumped from the ground is worth as much as $4 million a year. But Fondmonte pays only $86,000 a year to lease the land.
After the Republic’s investigation was announced, former Gov. Bruce Babbitt ordered Gov. Doug Ducey and Attorney General Mark Brunovich to give the state $38 million for water Fondmonte has pumped from the Butler Valley Basin over the past seven years. I demanded to be forced to pay. .
Proceeds from the rental and sale of state land will be used to fund K-12 education.
“One of the most egregious aspects of this free water supply is that it hurts schools and children,” says Mayes. “We need to maximize the amount of money schools receive from state trust lands and the water beneath them.”
Mayes held a press conference on the matter earlier this month and discussed it at length in an interview with The Republic.
“I think most Arizonans are shocked that the government is giving away their state’s water to a Saudi company during an extreme drought,” Mays said. “This Saudi water lease. was a total scandal, and the current governor and attorney general have allowed it to happen under scrutiny.”
Mays is not the only candidate for top office in Arizona.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake also wants to cancel the lease, said communications director Ross Trumbull.
“We would like to terminate the Fondmonte leases and will review all existing leases so that Arizona’s water and natural resources primarily benefit Arizonans and not foreign companies,” Trumbull said. said in a statement.
The State Land Service is overseen by Ducey who appointed the current land commissioner, Lisa Atkins. Both refused to talk about the lease.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs has criticized Reese several times, calling her a “lover’s deal,” and said she would. “Protecting Arizona’s Water Resources from Corruption”
This week, Hobbes campaigned that leasing should reflect the market and not be a sweet deal for foreign or special interests. He said we need to provide more tools to regulate
She did not go so far as to call for the lease to be canceled or investigated.
Republican Abe Hamadeh, an opponent of Mays in the Attorney General election, said in a statement: If we do, we should not subsidize private industry.”
He said the government has a duty to show private groups and foreign governments that Arizona is not for sale.
“I generally do not believe that the Attorney General should void or reverse any lawful contract with a private entity.” has been implicated in a recent controversy related to an undervalued public land auction and is now suspected of being involved in a Saudi groundwater land deal that threatens Arizona’s precious water supply. There are growing concerns.”
Mayes said the state could not afford a water deal like that with Fondomonte.
“Arizonans deserve an Attorney General to oversee things like this.” It’s a particularly egregious place to be involved in this kind of behavior.”
