HB2880 - 542R

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 45, chapter 2, article 9, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 45-576.08, to read:

START_STATUTE45-576.08. Pinal active management area; assured water supply; physical availability; definitions

A. The following apply in the Pinal active management area for an application to modify or renew a designation of assured water supply:

1. The director shall not review the physical availability of groundwater determined to be physically available under the previous designation determination. The physical availability of groundwater determined to be physically available under the previous designation shall not be grounds for an objection. This section is not intended to affect the director's review of assured water supply criteria other than groundwater physical availability.

2. The following are deemed physically available for purposes of an assured water supply designation:

(a) Stored water that is to be recovered by the applicant within the area of impact on an annual basis pursuant to section 45-851.01.

(b) Stored water that is to be recovered by the applicant within the area of impact pursuant to long-term storage credits pledged to the designation of assured water supply.

(c) Physically available water that will be stored within the area of impact on an annual basis or as long-term storage credits in the future. long-term storage credits pledged to a designation of assured water supply shall be deemed physically available only for the designated provider who holds those credits.

B. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Area of impact" means any one of the following:

(a) Within one mile of an existing or proposed underground storage facility.

(b) Within the district boundaries of an irrigation district that has a permit for a groundwater savings facility.

(c) For areas that are not prescribed by subdivisions (a) and (b) of this paragraph, areas that have been shown to have been positively impacted by the storage activity as demonstrated by a hydrologic model approved by the director.

2. "Long-term storage credit" has the same meaning prescribed in section 45-802.01.

3. "Stored water" has the same meaning prescribed in section 45‑802.01. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 45-579, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE45-579. Assignment of certificate of assured water supply; definition

A. A holder of a certificate of assured water supply issued pursuant to section 45‑576 may assign the certificate, in whole or in part, to another person if the holder applies to the director for approval within ten years after the original certificate was issued and the director approves the application. An application may be filed under this section more than ten years after the original certificate was issued if a minimum of five hundred lots within the subdivision covered by the certificate have been sold to individual home buyers by the holder of the certificate and any previous holders of the certificate. An application filed under this section shall be on a form prescribed by the director. The director shall approve a timely application for assignment of a certificate of assured water supply if the director determines that all of the following apply:

1. The proposed assignee owns or is acquiring the subdivision to which the current certificate applies, or if the application is for a partial assignment, the portion of the subdivision to which the current certificate applies that is the subject of the proposed assignment.

2. There has not been any material change in the subdivision plat, plan or map since the certificate was originally issued, including an increase in the total number of housing units or an increase in the total water demand for the subdivision, including all assignments. For the purposes of this section, an increase in the total number of housing units does not constitute a material change in the subdivision plat, plan or map.

3. Either there is water delivery infrastructure in place that is capable of delivering water to each lot within the subdivision or the proposed assignee has demonstrated financial capability to complete the infrastructure. In determining whether the proposed assignee has demonstrated financial capability to complete the infrastructure, the director shall apply the same standards that are used in evaluating financial capability for a new certificate application.

4. The water provider serving the subdivision and the source of supply have not changed since the current certificate was issued and the water provider has agreed to serve the subdivision after the assignment.

5. Water rights, permits, licenses, contracts and easements other than the municipal provider’s service area rights at the time the current certificate was issued have been assigned and may be used to support water service to the portion of the subdivision that is the subject of the assignment and to any remaining portions of the subdivision that are retained by the subdivider.

6. There has not been any change in the manner in which the consistency with management goal requirements were satisfied at the time the original certificate was issued.

B. After a change of ownership has occurred and on approval of an assignment, the director shall issue a certificate of assured water supply in the name of the assignee, retaining the date of the original certificate as the date of issuance.

C. In the case of a partial assignment, the director shall issue a certificate in the name of the assignee for the portion of the subdivision that is the subject of the proposed assignment, and shall issue a certificate in the name of the assignor for the portion of the subdivision retained, each with the date of the original certificate as the date of issuance. The new certificates shall include all water demand for the subdivision represented by the current certificate. The allocation of demand between the certificates shall be based on a reasonable plan for allocation of the total subdivision demand as approved by the director.

D. Section 45‑578 does not apply to an application filed under this section. Section 45‑114, subsections A and B govern administrative proceedings, rehearing and review and judicial review of final decisions of the director under this section. If an administrative hearing is held, it shall be conducted in the active management area in which the use is located.

E. Within two business days after receiving an application under subsection A of this section, the director shall post notice of the application on the department's web site website until the director issues a decision on the application. The notice shall include notice of the right to submit comments on the application as provided in this subsection, including a toll free number where comments may be submitted by telephone and the addresses where comments may be submitted by United States mail, electronic mail and hand delivery. Any person may submit comments on the application within fourteen calendar days after the first day that notice of the application is posted on the department's web site website. The director shall consider all timely comments submitted on the application before issuing a decision on the application. Within two business days after issuing a decision on the application, the director shall post notice of the decision on the department's web site website for a minimum of fourteen days. Notwithstanding title 41, chapter 6, article 10 and section 45‑114, a person who submits comments on an application pursuant to this subsection is not a party for purposes of title 41, chapter 6, article 10, is not entitled to an administrative hearing before or after the director's decision on the application and is not entitled to judicial review of the director's decision.

F. For the purposes of this section, "original certificate" means the initial certificate of assured water supply that is issued by the director for a subdivision. END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Title 45, chapter 2, article 9, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 45-579.01, to read:

START_STATUTE45-579.01. Certificate of assured water supply; material change; plat

For a holder of a certificate of assured water supply for a platted subdivision, an increase in the number of housing units in that subdivision does not constitute a material change in the plat. END_STATUTE