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ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESFifty-fifth Legislature Second Regular Session |
Senate: FIN DP 8-1-1-0 | 3rd Read 26-3-1-0House: NREW DPA/SE 8-4-0-0 |
SB 1197: TPT; exemption; agricultural equipment.
S/E: irrigation districts; service area; WIFA
Sponsor: Senator Shope, LD 8
Caucus & COW
Summary of the Strike-Everything Amendment to SB 1197
Overview
Redefines service area for an irrigation district and allows these districts and water conservation districts to receive financial assistance from the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA) to design, rehabilitate or improve water or wastewater infrastructure.
History
Irrigation Districts and the Drought Contingency Plan
An irrigation district is a special taxing district that owns and operates canals, reservoirs, wells and other infrastructure to divert, withdraw and distribute water to users within its boundaries (A.R.S. § 48-2901 et seq.) A district in an active management area (AMA) may withdraw and transport groundwater within its service area to landowners if it withdrew, delivered, and distributed groundwater as of January 1, 1977. These landowners can use the delivered groundwater if they have a grandfathered groundwater right (A.R.S. § 45-494(1)). An irrigation district's service area includes:
· Lands within the district that were served water anytime in the five years preceding the AMA's designation; and
· Any areas within the district that contained district-owned or -operated water infrastructure when the AMA was designated (A.R.S. § 45-402(32)).
The Legislature created the Temporary Groundwater and Irrigation Efficiency Projects Fund to implement part of the Drought Contingency Plan. It finances projects to build and rehabilitate wells and related infrastructure to withdraw and deliver groundwater for six irrigation districts in the Phoenix AMA and Pinal AMA (Laws 2019, Chapter 1, § 7). The increased groundwater pumping enabled by this infrastructure was designed to offset reductions to these districts' Central Arizona Project (CAP) deliveries as part of Arizona's required contributions to Lake Mead during declared shortages. In total, the Legislature appropriated $29 million to this fund, which was exempt from lapsing (Laws 2019, Ch. 1, §§ 16 and 20 and Laws 2019, Chapter 263, § 156).
Ak-Chin Indian Community Case
The Ak-Chin Indian Community (Community) is a federally recognized tribe that resides on a reservation in Pinal County. As part of its water rights settlements, the Community is entitled to an annual permanent supply of at least 75,000 acre-feet of higher priority water from the CAP suitable for agricultural use. Additionally, the United States agreed to design and build the infrastructure necessary to convey this water to the Community, which included the Santa Rosa Canal (P.L. 95-328 and P.L. 98-530).
In March 2020, the Community sued two neighboring irrigation districts, the Central Arizona Irrigation Drainage District (CAIDD) and Maricopa-Stanfield Irrigation and Drainage District (MSIDD), in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. It alleged that these districts pumped poorer quality groundwater that was ultimately discharged into the Santa Rosa Canal, where it commingled with the Community's CAP water and rendered it unsuitable for agricultural use (Case 2:20-cv-00489-JJT (D. Ariz.)). This case is ongoing.
Water Infrastructure Finance Authority
WIFA administers the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds which provide financial assistance through below-market rate loans, forgivable principal and technical assistance to Arizona’s communities. These funds primarily cover the construction, rehabilitation, and improvement of drinking water, wastewater, wastewater reclamation and other water quality facility projects (A.R.S. § 49-1221 et seq.). Irrigation districts may receive loans or other financial assistance from WIFA's Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to build, acquire or improve a drinking water facility. The loan repayment agreement may require the district to pay its share of expenses for administering this revolving fund and WIFA-approved financing and loan administration fees (A.R.S. § 48-3207).
Provisions
1. Redefines service area of an irrigation district to include areas that contain an operating system of canals, flumes, ditches and other works owned or operated by the irrigation district. (Sec. 1)
2. Allows an irrigation or water conservation district to design, rehabilitate or improve water or wastewater infrastructure, related property and appurtenances or a nonpoint source project with monies borrowed or financial assistance provided from WIFA. (Sec. 2)
3.
Makes technical and conforming changes.
(Sec. 1 and 2)
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7. SB 1197
8. Initials PAB Page 0 Caucus & COW
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