PHOENIX – Arizona Attorney General Chris Mays has announced that the drilling permit for a Saudi-owned Alfalfa farm in La Paz County has been revoked.
Eight months ago, Fondmonte Arizona LLC approved two deep-water wells, which Mays called “unconscionable” given the state’s need to conserve water.
“For too long, state leaders have been dozing off at the wheel while this crisis escalates,” Mays said in a tweet. “With new leadership and an increasingly urgent problem, now is the time for the state to get serious about regulating groundwater throughout Arizona.”
Just eight months ago, Arizona officials approved the construction of a new deep-water well in La Paz County to pump thousands of gallons of water per minute for a Saudi-owned company.
Today, just before Earth Day, we can say that’s not happening. These training permits have been revoked.
— Arizona Attorney General Chris Mayes (@AZAGMayes) April 21, 2023
Mays said in an article last week. letter It informed the Arizona Department of Water Resources about the discrepancies in the permit application and asked the agency to review the new application from Fondmonte.
She called for better coordination between the Arizona Land Department and ADWR.
Several large corporate farms in western and southeastern Arizona have come under fire for using too much water as the southwestern United States is hit by a severe drought.
In some cases, neighbors have complained that nearby wells have dried up because corporate farms use so much water. In addition, Arizona faces the potential loss of significant amounts of water from the Colorado River as the federal government announces new measures to address declining water levels in Lake Powell and Lake Mead.
The AG wrote that it was aware of reports that residential and commercial wells in areas near farms were experiencing dehydration.
Fondomonte applied for two 1,200-foot, 3,000-gallon-per-minute wells on August 23 and was approved on August 29.
The company grows alfalfa, a water-intensive crop, and ships it to Saudi Arabia to feed livestock.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
