Saudi farm brings Arizona water controversy to boiling point - MSN Alfalfa is one of the world's most water-intensive crops, and thousands of acres of land in drought-parched western Arizona are dedicated to growing it. She also said in a statement that Arizona's Groundwater Management Act needs to be updated to give rural areas more tools for regulating groundwater pumping. The State Department said a gunman who opened fire on the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and a local security guard working at the consulate were killed in an exchange of fire on Wednesday. The Plunder of Our Water Supply Has Already Begun - Esquire The State Land Department is overseen byDucey, who appointed current Land Commissioner Lisa Atkins. These companies and other megafarms can afford to drill deep wells, chasing the rapidly sinking water table. In Cochise County, for example, intensive drilling for corporate agriculture has jeopardized the livelihood of residents and imperiled small farms. When you recognize its going far away, that the products and benefits of this water are exported overseas, that really provokes peoples attention.. Large scale farming of hay and alfalfa, using mechanized overhead irrigation systems that move in a circle, are viewed on March 10, 2021 in Needles, California. In Arizona, fresh scrutiny of Saudi-owned farm's water use A tale of two deserts: Are Saudi cows to blame for Arizona's water Rural communities are even limited in their capacity for land-use planning. Holly Irwin, a member of the La Paz County Board of Supervisors, has long opposed Fondomonte using water in the county. In an interview with The Associated Press, Attorney General Kris Mayes said she thought most Arizonans see it as outrageous that the state is allowing foreign-owned companies to stick a straw in our ground and use our water for free to grow alfalfa and send it home to Saudi Arabia. Mayes said the state can't afford water deals like the one with Fondomonte. Subscribe to Here's the Deal, our politics newsletter. Those operations have attracted less scrutiny. Assisted by the newly established University of Arizona, the farmers dug deep and elaborate irrigation . Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. In all likelihood, if these groups have to pay fair prices for water, they will have to give up on growing water-hungry crops like alfalfa in the desert. Arizona PBS is a member-supported service of Arizona State University. State blocks plans for new deepwater wells at Saudi-owned farm - AZFamily This last example brings up another point. Much of it goes to private companies nearly free, including Saudi Arabias largest dairy company. "It is a scandal that the State of Arizona allowed this to happen," said Mayes, a Democrat, who made canceling these leases a centerpiece of her recent campaign. The residents of La Paz County have their own needs and their own vision of their future as a community,and these deserve at least some consideration in the discussion of water. .css-gk9meg{display:block;font-family:Lausanne,Arial,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;padding-top:0.25rem;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-gk9meg:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.15;margin-bottom:0.25rem;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.625rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 73.75rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;}}SCOTUS Just Opened the Door to More Bigotry, DeSantis Donor Got a Whole Lot of Covid Money. He claims his neighbors, Fondomonte, used so much water that his well went dry. For all of APs environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment. But thats not the most ominous water news of the moment. Years of drought have ratcheted up pressure on water users across the West, particularly in states like Arizona, which relies heavily on the dwindling Colorado River. Apple is shuttering My Photo Stream. As a geographer who studies Saudi Arabias history, I cant help but think about how muddy the lines between victim and victimizer are when I hear this rhetoric. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Even if Fondomonte leaves the state, it will be only a matter of time before Arizona sucks its aquifers dry. Arizona revokes water permits for Saudi Arabia-owned alfalfa farm In Arizona, fresh scrutiny of Saudi-owned farms water use. Mayes, a Democrat, sought the revocations after she said her office had found inconsistencies in the permit applications. The Saudi Arabian government had started to push agricultural companies to look abroad for water intensive crops. Arizona AG takes aim at foreign-owned farms that pump groundwater - CNN Its one of the most water intensive crops there are and just with the conditions out there, theyre able to do eight to nine cuts, harvests a year of alfalfa.. The emphasis on foreign boogeymen and the needs of one metro area tends to ignore the larger problems here, chiefly the fact that the use of groundwater is largely unregulated in much of the state. The state is dependent on the Colorado River, which has been depleted by overuse and climate change and hit extreme lows this year. In Arizona, Fresh Scrutiny of Saudi-Owned Farm's Water Use On Twitter:@tomprezelski. "Pumps are pumping water out of the ground that belongs to the State of Arizona, and essentially it's being exported to Saudi Arabia," said Kris Mayes, Arizona's newly elected attorney general. Arizona rescinded a pair of drilling permits that would have allowed Fondomonte to pump up to 3,000 gallons of water per minute to irrigate its forage crops. Kris Mayes:Democrat with rural roots wants to be Arizona's next attorney general. Farms in western Arizona are growing alfalfa one of the most water-intensive crops in an area where there's a shortage of water. Katie Hobbs negotiated with leaders of the Republican-controlled Legislature and won approval on Wednesday is drawing criticism from Democrats for failing to put limits on an expansion of a school voucher program that they say is a drain, Arizona governor urging Biden to designate tribally proposed monument at Grand Canyon, Kari Lake election challenge shouldnt proceed, Arizona officials say, After intense negotiations, Arizona Gov. A lot of companies in Saudi Arabia have been searching around the world for a location to get their water from, which one of them is Western Arizona. We need to have some sort of regulation so its not all just being pumped out of the ground, Irwin said. That same month, Republican state legislators introduced a bill to prohibit sales of state lands to foreign governments, state enterprises and any company based in China, Russia or Saudi Arabia. An appropriation of $440 million for conservation and water reliability projects, passed in the waning hours of the session, is a significant step. June 23, 2022. LA PAZ, Arizona A desert filled with dust, rock and dry vegetation is now teeming with rows of vividly green crops and roaming livestock fueled by underground water. Located on the borders of Arizona and Nevada, this desert valley is being farmed for hay and alfalfa using groundwater pulled from the Colorado River, with much of the hay exported to feed animals in Middleastern countries such as Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. In June, The Arizona Republic reported that the State Land Department had given a sweet deal to a Saudi Arabian company called Fondomonte to farm areas in Butler Valley near Bouse and grow. This week, Attorney General Kris Mayes said her office uncovered the . "We are on the cusp of a potential water disaster in the state of Arizona," Mayes said. But aquifers are drying. Treating water like a revenue source is a terrible idea on its face, but charging bargain-basement prices for a terrible idea is an even more terrible idea. 3805 N. Black Canyon Hwy Phoenix, AZ 85015-5351 602.240.6860 mail@AZwater.com . In a county without a single lake or river, they told farmers to drill as deep as they wanted for water. Officials from both parties have criticized the use of state water by foreign-owned entities, withGov. Phoenix, Tucson and other Arizona cities have restrictions on how much groundwater they can pump under a 1980 state law aimed at protecting the states aquifers. The Arizona Water Supply. "Arizonans deserve anattorney general who will be a watchdog over things like this," she said. One silver lining: Our supply of bad ideas hasn't dried up. The Arizona Department of Water Resources is the steward of Arizona's water future and ensures long-term, reliable water supplies to support the continued economic prosperity of the State. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. Natalie Koch is a professor of geography at Syracuse University and the author of a forthcoming book about the relationship between Arizona and Saudi Arabia. Mayes, along with hydrologists and environmental advocates, says more studies are needed of groundwater basins in rural areas such as La Paz County, an agricultural county of about 16,000 people. Wenn Sie Ihre Auswahl anpassen mchten, klicken Sie auf Datenschutzeinstellungen verwalten. Best States is an interactive platform developed by U.S. News for ranking the 50 U.S. states, alongside news analysis and daily reporting. In Arizona, Fondomonte can pump as much water as it wants at no cost. 1996 - 2023 NewsHour Productions LLC. And its not just farming operations. Then a delicacy, dates could be grown in the desert. In most of rural Arizona, whoever has the money to drill a well can continue to pump till the very last drop. A Colorado web designer who the U.S. Supreme Court ruled could refuse to make a wedding website for gay couples had cited a request from a man who says he never asked to work with her, Ohios new budget could include almost $3 billion in income tax cuts, funding for universal school vouchers, bans on flavored vape products, and hundreds of other measures, Delaware lawmakers have given final approval to budget bills for the new fiscal year starting Saturday. combat low water levels in Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Local governments in rural areas do not have the same tools for comprehensive planning available to them that those in Arizonas urban counties do, so measures to control water use by limiting certain development are not feasible. Left: The United Arab Emirates-owned Al Dahra ACX Global Inc. grows forage crops in Arizona and California, and is a major North American exporter of hay. State Land Department employees said the water being pumped from the ground could be worth as much as $4 million annually. Water managers from seven states in the river basin failed in August to meet a federal deadline to make sharp reductions. The states groundwater, Hobbs said, should be used to support Arizonans, not foreign business interests.. Fondomonte trucks haul dried alfalfa off the property it uses and ships it back to the Middle East to feed cattle. The situation is worse in the roughly 80 percent of Arizonas territory that falls outside these regulations. Thank you. More than half the worlds population sees AP journalism every day. Though it is easy to focus on foreign actors, aggressive investor-owned outfits have been threatening water resources all over Arizona. This week, the Hobbs campaign said the leases need to reflect the market and not be sweetheart deals for foreign and special interests. We know that land is subsiding. In June, The Arizona Republic reported that the State Land Department had given a sweet deal to a Saudi Arabian company called Fondomonte to farm areas in Butler Valley nearBouse andgrow alfalfa and ship itback to the Middle East to feed its cows. Some farms are foreign-owned and are shipping the crop to Saudi Arabia, where it's illegal to grow because it takes too much water. That's how much water would have been pumped from two proposed wells on a Saudi Arabia-owned farm in La Paz County. Saudi Hay Farm In Arizona Tests State's Supply Of Groundwater There are .css-umdwtv{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:.0625rem;text-decoration-color:#FF3A30;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:inherit;-webkit-transition:background 0.4s;transition:background 0.4s;background:linear-gradient(#ffffff, #ffffff 50%, #d5dbe3 50%, #d5dbe3);-webkit-background-size:100% 200%;background-size:100% 200%;}.css-umdwtv:hover{color:#000000;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;-webkit-background-position:100% 100%;background-position:100% 100%;}Nazi ghost ships rising from their watery graves in the Danube. KTAR.com PHOENIX Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced that drill permits for a Saudi Arabia-owned alfalfa farm in La Paz County have been revoked. CBS News asked the department why it granted the leases, but it did not respond to our multiple requests for comment. The Premier League club, who came under majority ownership by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) in October 2021, qualified for the Champions League at the end of last season after a 20 . Credit: 12News There's a water tower about 100 yards from the well. Canada is the largest holder mainly of forestland. Opinion | A Saudi Arabian Dairy Giant in Siphoning Off Arizona's The company can then pump unlimited amounts of groundwater for essentially no cost. Doug Ducey and Attorney General Mark Brnovich to force Fondomonte to pay the state as much as $38 million. A side note to why is because Saudi Arabia has exhausted a lot of their ground water supply. Suman Naishadham, Associated Press. A few months after that plan was released, Saudi-U.S. relations deteriorated after Saudi Arabia announced oil production cuts. He said the government has a duty to show private entities and foreign governments that Arizona is not for sale. Its a cycle that has to end: Arizona should put a stop to Fondomontes shady deal, and the sooner the better. That makes the water underneath the desert in Butler Valley extremely valuable. Contact reporter Rob O'Dell at rob.odell@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @robodellaz. Its this legal failing that, in part, allows the Saudi company to draw unlimited amounts of water to grow an alfalfa crop that feeds dairy cows 8,000 miles away. We could start in 1848 when the U.S. acquired a large part of the Southwest. April 28, 2023, at 12:09 a.m. That Fondomonte chose Arizona as a place to grow such crops has angered some in the state, which has faced two consecutive years of federal water cuts from the Colorado River, a primary water source for the state. Learn more about Friends of the NewsHour. CBS News obtained copies of several land leases dating back to 2014 that give Fondomonte rights to more than 6,000 acres of state-owned land and the groundwater that comes with it. Fondomonte, which is owned by one of the largest dairy companies in Saudi Arabia, bought vast tracts of desert in western Arizona on top of a massive groundwater aquifer in part because there are no regulations on how much water can be pumped out of the ground. We can see that with our eyes, Mayes said. The wells will be just as dry whether local water resources are monopolized by corporate farms or are redirected elsewhere.