ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Fifty-fourth Legislature

Second Regular Session

Senate: WAG DP 7-0-0-0 | 3rd Read 30-0-0-0

SB1301: water banking; storage credits; subcontractors

Sponsor:  Senator Pratt, LD 8

Committee on Natural Resources, Energy & Water

Overview

Authorizes the Arizona Water Banking Authority (AWBA) to distribute long-term storage credits (LTSCs) to the Central Arizona Water Conservation District's (CAWCD) municipal and industrial subcontractors and prohibits these LTSCs from being sold.

History

LTSCs

LTSCs are earned when permitted facilities in an active management area (AMA) store water underground through direct or indirect recharge. This stored water is eligible for credits when it:

1)    Was stored underground for at least one year;

2)    Cannot reasonably be used directly, with certain exceptions for the Pinal AMA related to implementing the Drought Contingency Plan; and

3)    Would not have been naturally recharged within the AMA.

A holder can use these credits in several ways, including pledging them towards an assured water supply, meeting replenishment obligations, or leasing or selling them subject to certain limitations. Additionally, the holder can withdraw the stored water from the same AMA at a later date provided certain statutory criteria are met (A.R.S. §§ 45-834.01, 45-851.01, 45-852.01 and 45-854.01).

AWBA

The AWBA was created in 1996 to increase Arizona's use of its Colorado River entitlement and develop LTSCs for the state. This agency stores unused Colorado River water underground to be used in times of shortage to firm water supplies in Arizona. Statute establishes several rules for the accounting system that the AWBA maintains for the LTSCs it accrues and purchases. Specifically, one rule allows the AWBA to distribute LTSCs accrued or purchased with Arizona Water Banking Fund monies only for the county in which those monies were collected. The AWBA distributes these LTSCs to CAWCD to meet the demands of its municipal and industrial subcontractors when the CAWCD's Colorado River water diversions have been or will be disrupted (A.R.S. § 45-2457).

CAWCD

CAWCD is a multi-county water conservation district that was formed to repay the federal government for the Central Arizona Project's (CAP) construction and to manage and operate this project and its water supply through subcontracting (A.R.S. § 48-3703). Municipal and industrial subcontractors for CAP water include cities, private water companies, and mines.

Provisions

1.    Authorizes the AWBA to distribute LTSCs to the CAWCD's municipal and industrial subcontractors.

2.    Prohibits these LTSCs from being sold.

3.    Declares that the subcontractors are responsible for all fees assessed by the AWBA or the ADWR Director for distributing LTSCs and all costs for recovering these LTSCs.

4.    ☐ Prop 105 (45 votes) ☐ Prop 108 (40 votes) ☐ Emergency (40 votes) ☐ Fiscal NoteMakes a technical change.

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8.                      SB 1301

9.    Initials PAB           Page 0 Natural Resources, Energy & Water

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