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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Sixth Legislature, Second Regular Session
transportation; groundwater; Douglas AMA
Purpose
Allows an owner of a well that is located in the Upper San Pedro Groundwater Basin to annually withdraw groundwater from the Upper San Pedro groundwater basin for transportation to the Douglas Active Management Area (AMA) in an amount determined if outlined conditions are met.
Background
Statute outlines specific groundwater basins in which withdrawal of groundwater for transportation to determined AMAs is applicable, including the transportation of groundwater withdrawn in the McMullen Valley Groundwater Basin, the Butler Valley Groundwater Basin, the Harquahala Irrigation Non-Expansion Area, and the Big Chino Groundwater Sub-Basin of the Verde River Groundwater Basin (A.R.S. Title 45, Chapter 2, Article 8.1).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Allows an owner of a well that is located in the Upper San Pedro groundwater basin to annually withdraw groundwater from the Upper San Pedro groundwater basin for transportation to the Douglas AMA in an amount determined, if:
a) the groundwater is transported to the Douglas AMA for the same purposes for which the groundwater was transported from the Upper San Pedro groundwater basin to the Douglas Groundwater Basin before December 1, 2022;
b) the owner of the well or the owner's predecessor in interest withdrew groundwater from the Upper San Pedro groundwater basin for transportation to the Douglas AMA by December 1, 2022; and
c) if the owner of the well is a private water company, the private water company, as of the general effective date, has a certificate of convenience and necessity issued by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) to provide water service for a municipal purpose within the Douglas AMA.
2. Prohibits the total amount of groundwater that an owner of a well that meets prescribed requirements may annually transport from the Upper San Pedro groundwater basin to the Douglas AMA to exceed the highest annual amount of groundwater that the owner of the well withdrew from the Upper San Pedro groundwater basin for transportation to the Douglas Groundwater Basin in any of the preceding 10 years before December 1, 2022.
3. Requires a well owner that wishes to transport groundwater from the Upper San Pedro groundwater basin to the Douglas Groundwater Basin, within 30 days after the general effective date or 30 days before the effective date of groundwater withdrawal, whichever is later, to submit to the Director of ADWR:
a) evidence that the well owner withdrew groundwater from the Upper San Pedro groundwater basin for transportation to the Douglas Groundwater Basin by December 1, 2022;
b) evidence of the purposes for which the well owner transported groundwater from the Upper San Pedro groundwater basin to the Douglas Groundwater Basin by December 1, 2022;
c) evidence of the purposes for which the well owner has transported or plans to transport groundwater from the Upper San Pedro groundwater basin to the Douglas Groundwater Basin after December 1, 2022;
d) if the owner is a private water company, evidence that the private water company had a certificate of convenience and necessity issued by the ACC to provide water service for a municipal purpose within the Douglas AMA as of the general effective date; and
e) the total annual amount of groundwater that the owner withdrew from the Upper San Pedro groundwater basin for transportation to the Douglas Groundwater Basin in each of the preceding 10 years before December 1, 2022.
4. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
House Action
NREW 1/17/24 DP 5-4-0-0
3rd Read 2/28/24 31-28-0-0-1
Prepared by Senate Research
March 12, 2024
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