arizona news
Has been updated: April 22, 2023 at 10:06 PM
(Photo credit: SANDY HUFFAKER / AFP)
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Attorney General Chris Mays has announced that the drilling permit for a Saudi-owned Alfalfa farm in La Paz County has been revoked.
Fondmonte Arizona LLC approved two deepwater wells eight months ago, which Mays called “unconscionable” given the state’s water conservation needs.
Mays tweeted, “While this crisis unfolds, our state leaders have slept at the wheel for far too long.” With all the urgency, now is the time for the state government to get serious about regulating groundwater throughout Arizona.”
Mays last week letter He told the Arizona Department of Water Resources that there were discrepancies in the permit application and urged the agency to review the new application from Fondmonte.
She called for better coordination between the Arizona Land Department and ADWR.
Some of the large corporate farms in western and southeastern Arizona have been criticized 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 are drying up because company farms are using so much water. Additionally, Arizona faces the potential for significant water loss from the Colorado River as the federal government announces new actions to address low water levels in Lake Powell and Lake Mead.
The AG wrote that it was aware of reports that residential and commercial wells near farms were experiencing dehydration.
Fondmonte 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 sends it back to Saudi Arabia as animal feed.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
