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Arizona AG looking to use 'nuisance law' to go after Saudi farms for excessive water usage

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is considering suing Fondomonte and other foreign farms under "nuisance laws" in place in the state's constitution.

LA PAZ COUNTY, Ariz. — Attorney General Kris Mayes says she may sue foreign-owned farms under Arizona's "nuisance law" in Arizona. 

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These farms, particularly those operated by Fondomonte Arizona - which is in turn owned by a Saudi company called Almarai - have drawn criticism for years due to their water-intensive alfalfa farming. Fondomonte/Almarai then exports the alfalfa to feed dairy cows in Saudi Arabia.

Fondomonte’s farming operations began in La Paz County in 2014, after the purchased more than 10,000 acres of land West of the Valley. Under the agreement, Fondomonte paid less than the going market rate for the land and did not have to pay for the water it used. Alfalfa is one of the most water-intensive crops in the world.  

Arizona’s groundwater regulations are more stringent within Active Management Areas (AMAs), which cover the more populated areas of the state. 

 But La Paz County, where Fondomonte and other foreign farms operate, falls outside of any AMA. This means that farms in La Paz County have nearly unrestricted access to groundwater.

On Tuesday, Mayes hinted that her office could file nuisance lawsuits against these farms in the coming weeks, calling their groundwater pumping “extreme.”

“What I'll say is, watch this space in the next two weeks,” Mayes said.

Mayes hired two hydrologists to survey the area’s groundwater.

"[The] first time, I think, in the history of Arizona that has happened,” Mayes said. "And I was dead serious when I talked about using nuisance [laws] to stop the Saudis from de-watering our aquifers.”

Mayes said the damage to La Paz County is not just underground, but is damage to the ground itself. 

“Our evidence is showing that there has been extreme damage," Mayes said. 

MORE INFORMATION: This Arizona town has dropped 18 feet in elevation over the last 80 years. Experts say this is the reason

"The town of Wendon, which has sunk by four feet as a result of the extreme groundwater pumping that has occurred at a farm that was at least, up until recently, owned by the United Arab Emirates,” Mayes said. 

Legal experts, however, warn that proving groundwater abuse under Arizona’s existing laws will be challenging. Rhett Larson, a professor of water law at ASU's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, said Arizona’s current laws give agriculture a wide exemption to nuisance laws. 

While citing visible damage like land sinking is a new approach, Larson said Arizona’s laws largely protect groundwater use as long as it’s deemed “reasonable” for agricultural or other uses.

"There’s a decent amount of case law even on that issue that says as long as the amount of water you’re taking out is reasonable in connection with your water use, then it’s not unreasonable in every other way,” Larsen said.

“You don’t see a lot of people going, 'Well, you’re being unreasonable so I’m going to sue you on your groundwater use,'" Larson added, "because it’s just too easy for the other side to go, ‘Well, you’re pumping groundwater too,’” said Larsen.

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