PHX Reporter

The Arizona House of Representatives has passed a bill aimed at reforming the state's groundwater laws to better serve rural areas. The legislation, known as HB2572, was sponsored by Representative Gail Griffin, who chairs the House Natural Resources, Energy & Water Committee. It now moves to the Senate for further consideration.

The bill seeks to address issues with the current "Active Management Areas" (AMAs) framework, which Griffin describes as "broken." According to her, AMAs have not been effective in rural Arizona due to their one-size-fits-all approach that does not account for the lack of alternative water supplies in these regions.

Griffin said, "Residents across the state including Democrats and Republicans have acknowledged that Active Management Areas don’t work for rural Arizona, yet no one has proposed to fix the existing statutes." She emphasized that HB2572 is intended to make AMAs a viable tool for rural communities.

Current AMA regulations were originally designed to encourage users to switch from groundwater to alternative sources like the Central Arizona Project or Salt River Project. However, such alternatives are not available in rural areas. As a result, existing policies have hindered housing and economic development in these regions.

HB2572 proposes making subsequent AMAs more adaptable by enhancing farmers' water use efficiency and expanding county supervisors' authority over water supply requirements for housing developments.

Griffin criticized environmental groups opposing the bill: "Radical environmental groups claim we need a ‘new tool’ to manage groundwater in rural areas, but what they really want is to adopt something more stringent than an AMA." She argued that fixing existing tools is preferable to introducing new regulations that could harm rural economies.

Gail Griffin represents Legislative District 19, covering parts of Greenlee, Graham, Cochise, and eastern Pima and Santa Cruz Counties. She continues her role as Chairman of the House Natural Resources, Energy & Water Committee.

Information from this article can be found here.