Recently civil servant He was elected to the Maricopa County oversight board that governs the ongoing water dispute, and was also a lobbyist for a Saudi company seeking to protect valuable groundwater extraction. Thomas Galvin was elected in the midterm elections for the first appointed office in 2021, lobbying on behalf of a Saudi-owned agricultural company that uses Arizona’s most depleted natural resources for export abroad. rice field.

State lobbying disclosures indicate that Galvin is a partner of Rose Law Group. Rose Law Group lobbied on behalf of a subsidiary of Saudi Arabian company Almarai, which uses US groundwater to grow alfalfa in the currently drought-hit states of Arizona and California. Animal feed grown in the harsh desert environment is shipped overseas to support livestock on Saudi dairy farms. In 2014, Almarai, through a wholly owned subsidiary, purchased approximately 10,000 acres of farmland in Vicksburg, Arizona. Fondmonte, spent about $50 million on the purchase. Almost non-existent water regulations in La Paz County, where Vicksburg is located, allow Fondmonte to pump vast amounts of water from Arizona’s water table, which has dropped more than 50 feet over the past 20 years.

Prior to joining the Board of Oversight, Galvin appeared in the Arizona legislature and lobbied against HB 2520. HB 2520 is a bill that directs the Arizona Department of Water Resources to monitor wells and water levels in the upper Colorado River water planning area.At the hearing, Galvin Said A member of the Land, Agriculture and Forestry Commission said, “I don’t know if this bill is right at this point. It will single out agricultural users.In fact, it may force farms to release proprietary data.” The bill ultimately failed, but Galvin was able to create a foreign-owned aquifer. phoned residents who were concerned about the outflow of racist.

“My legal practice consists almost entirely of land use law practice and I am also a state-registered lobbyist, along with several other attorneys in the Rose Law Group,” Galvin told The Intercept by email. I sent that. “Lobbying has not been a major aspect of my legal career and occupies very little time compared to my core practice area. Rose Law Group is registered as a Lobbyist in Fondomonte Arizona. is one of several attorneys at Rose Law Group covered by that registration.”

In response to his role representing Fondmonte and his fellowship with the Supervisory Board, Galvin wrote: Additionally, Arizona counties have limited powers related to water policy and are not even water providers. Maricopa County does not lease state land and does not control water rates or policies enacted by state agencies. I will continue to deny myself if my law firm clients do business with Maricopa County. ”

Water is so scarce in Arizona and neighboring states that a plan emerged It pumps water from the Mississippi River across the country to supply water to drought-stricken residents. Fondomote, in particular, has become a flashpoint for statewide water policy, along with Democratic Attorney General candidate Chris Mays. ask for an investigation Potential sanctions for water use by Saudi companies.

Four years after Galvin’s testimony, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has engaged residents, politicians and transporters over who has the right to water and how each interest group should pay for access to water. are ruling increasingly tense situations pitted against each other. In December 2021, Galvin was unanimously appointed to the Board of Supervisors by the incumbent Board. This year he found himself in the middle of a stalemate in January. He called for action by politicians and residents on all sides of the watershed regarding water rezoning plans that affect the price paid by hundreds of Maricopa residents. Water transported for miles and distributed to tanks under drought-stricken homes.

After the Federal Reclamation Service declared a water shortage from the Colorado River last year, Scottsdale (where many Rio Verde Foothills residents get their water) offered a bid to bidders to deliver water to individual residents tanks. , declared not to limit its own water supply. at Rio Verde. In light of the impending closure, the citizens of Rio Verde, with the support of Galvin, sought to designate a new body of water to allow pumping from the Jalkajara Valley.

Galvin was quick to support unlimited pumping by Fondomonte before his appointment to the board, but the residents of Rio Verde found him less sympathetic once he joined the board.Both residents in favor of the new water district and water supply operators who oppose it I was able to get Galvin A few weeks process to make a decision.

With the January 1 water cutoff for Rio Verde residents fast approaching, and with the complexity and overlap of regulators managing Arizona’s water, Galvin and other Maricopa supervisors are looking for solutions to the water crisis. has not been ensured. use. In August, Maricopa’s supervisors unanimously rejected a proposal to create a new water district. Galvin supported the idea of ​​a privately owned water utility, such as his Canadian-owned Epcor, supplying the water, but some residents questioned the construction burden and multi-year timeline that the plan would require. is against 2021, Rose Act helped to promote Epcor purchased Johnson Utilities on behalf of landowners and homebuilders in and around the Santan Valley south of Phoenix.

Many of the dozens of companies represented by Rose Law Group fall into water-dependent industry categories such as horse breeding, property development, mining and fossil fuels.Our office list Conservative political clients such as President Romney, US President Senator Marco Rubio, and Build America’s Fence.

Galvin’s election to the board follows increased scrutiny of Saudi Arabia’s influence in US politics and a shift in consensus regarding the Gulf nations, once one of America’s closest energy allies. .A month before his midterm elections, Saudi Arabia announced drastic cuts in oil production, prompting both politicians and policy experts to alleged political attack On President Joe Biden’s agenda and the Democratic election odds. After the Biden administration voiced its support for Saudi leader Mohammed bin Salman, who received immunity from sovereignty in a lawsuit targeting the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a report came out Saudi Arabia considering increasing oil production in the upcoming winter season.