And different anxieties, inflamed by Americas complicated relationship with Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf nations checkered record of global citizenship. Example video title will go here for this video. Theyre stealing our water is a common refrain in the region. What would be foolish for us to do would be to compromise our microchip industry because we gave away, for free, a ton of water to grow hay.. We know by anecdotal evidence that wells are being de-watered by these big farming operations. They have said the companies are exploiting Arizonas groundwater law that allows farms to pump as much water as they want in a time of drought. The adjudication process is slowly chugging through the Arizona courts, and many owners of property served by a well or irrigation, may not have the proper registrations needed. Scattered rows of phosphorescent green rectangles linger nearby, giving the landscape the pixelated look of an Atari. Kris Mayes is theDemocratic candidate for Arizona attorney general. The county grows alfalfa hay in Arizona and California to ship back to its own dairy herds and to save their own water reserves, according to the article. One is a form for a36-XXXXXnumber and the other is for a 39-XXXXX number. She served two terms on theArizona Corporation Commission. At some wells in the Ranegras [Plain] Basin, weve actually seen the water tables rise.. Homes and trees are burst into flames early Friday afternoon. For some of the countys residents, the very idea of Saudi sheikhs tapping into Arizonas water supply strikes up long-dormant urges to rock the casbah. Fondomonte declined CBS News' request for an interview or statement. Pursuant to the Arizona Constitution, money that is generated from state trust land leases must go to benefit Arizona K-12 schools. United States District Judge Rosemary Mrquez sentenced human smuggler John Edward Crenshaw to 40 months in prison for his crimes. Author: 12news.com. WebSaudi company draws unlimited Arizona ground water for crop illegal to grow in Saudi Arabia Alfalfa is one of the world's most water-intensive crops, and thousands of acres of More than half the worlds population sees AP journalism every day. To date, Brnovich has done nothing, not even respond to the county supervisors. The company can then pump unlimited amounts of groundwater for essentially no cost. "We cannot afford to give our water away frankly to anyone, let alone the Saudis, for free," said Mayes. So there may be business merits to exporting water use., Indeed, the emerging trend of water-investment was teased in the closing frames of the Oscar-winning movie The Big Short, when the real-life fates of the wily financial traders portrayed in the film were spelled out on the screen, American Graffiti-style. The settlement also provides funds to pay the fixed operation and maintenance charges associated with delivery of CAP water to Arizona Indian tribes. In June, The Arizona Republic uncovered the story of how the State Land Department had recently handed over thousands of acres to a Saudi corporation called Like many learned observers, dating back to legendary Colorado River explorer John Wesley Powell, who believed settlements should only be built around water and watersheds, Welland views Arizonas arid climate as one that would not support life if not for the visionary work of the early canal builders. Arizona is leasing farmland to a Saudi water company, straining aquifers, and threatening future water supply in Phoenix. So we should be weighing the benefits of the water use. The $25/acre land lease is well below market rates, and the water being given away comes from the Butler Valley Basin and Vicksburg areas that Arizona cities may very well need to rely on for their water needs in the near future. During my first week as attorney general, I will request an auditor generals audit of all industrial-scale leases of state trust land where water is being pumped to determine if the rates are below market and how much school funding has been lost as a result. This year, the kingdom will no longer produce wheat. Almarai Co. bought land in January that roughly doubled its holdings in Californias Palo Verde Valley, an area that enjoys first dibs on water from the Colorado River. When former Phoenix mayor Phil Gordon returned from a business trip to Saudi Arabia in 2009 and announced long-term plans for an economic development agreement between the City of Phoenix and Dubai dubbed the International Business Attraction Program city planners began envisioning towering new Downtown skyscrapers on par with Dubais nearly 2,000-foot-tall Burj Khalifa high-rise and enormous shopping malls 10 times the size of all of Desert Ridge, as Gordon projected. For Michael Burry, the eccentric but visionary hedge fund manager played in the movie by Christian Bale and who made dirty millions betting against the housing bond market the post-script was intriguing: Michael Burry is focusing all of his trading on one commodity: Water., In an interview in New York magazine last December, Burry confirmed he is now betting on water, but with a twist. Lakes Mead and Powell are less than 150 feet from dead pool status and hydrologists believe they will hit dead pool sometime in 2023. pending before the Arizona Department Water Resources. They know Arizona is one of the hottest and driest places in the world, and they think, Surely this cant be a great place to invest and do business in, with climate change and drought going on. If Im a global investor, why would I invest someplace where Im worried about water supply?, Michael Welland is a U.K. geologist and author of several books on desert environments. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-108s437enr/pdf/BILLS-108s437enr.pdf This may be the best $125.00 you have ever spent on your property. Author: 12news.com. The cows feed multiple times a day, and they need to be certain that they are always able to fulfill that unwavering demand, she wrote. 27 Jun 2023 13:56:59 Since 2009, American alfalfa exports to China have grown by nearly a factor of eight. Anyone who buys or leases land there can put in a well and draw water. Gab & Juls debate the reportedly imminent signing of Milan's Sandro Tonali by Newcastle United. The leases are signed by Arizona's State Land Department. As water supplies become less reliable and demands more acute, more countries might use virtual trade to overcome water stress. Theres hundreds of companies in Arizona that have always been shipping alfalfa and other crops around the globe. Almarai already farms worldwide to make sure that weather, transportation problems or other conditions dont interrupt supplies. According to Mayes, cows in Saudi Arabia are essentially drinking Arizona water. No one wants to walk from their sweltering car just to continue to be hot in their home. It is time for Arizonas leaders to act like they care about Arizona more than a country thousands of miles away that is trying to harm America. But the truth is theyre trying to make farming here more sustainable because, basically, they already know what can happen if they pump themselves dry.. From the air, spied from a window seat on any flight from Phoenix to Northern California, they look like mammoth rudimentary crop circles. If its not sustainable or there are hidden costs that were not accounting for, it might not be as good a deal as we thought. It flies in the face of economic reason, said John Szczepanski, director of the U.S. Forage Export Council. Indeed, the emerging trend of water-investment was teased in the closing frames of the Oscar-winning movie. Newcastle United are in talks to host a Saudi Arabia fixture at St James' Park during the September international break, sources have told ESPN. Failure to file a claim could result in the loss of right to use "surface" water, which includes certain wells. Pass it along to the KTAR News team here. Together they accounted for 10 percent of U.S. exports of alfalfa and other grasses last year. The flames quickly split into two separate fires. The company also acquired a large tract near Vicksburg, Ariz., becoming a powerful economic force in a region that has fewer well-pumping restrictions than other parts of the state. Michelle Moreno, a spokesperson for the Arizona Department of Water Resources, said companies can use as much water as needed. Theyre all using water, too, to produce goods and services many of which are consumed by people outside the state. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. AZFamily.com reported that the new wells would have pumped up to 3,000 gallons (11,000 liters) of water per minute. Tribal water rights issues in Arizona date back to the earliest days of settlement by Anglo Americans. The state of Arizona has rescinded its approval for two new deepwater wells for controversial Saudi Arabia-owned farms in the desert west of Phoenix. If you would like for SEC to research the water claims on your property, please call Jamee Reddell at 928-634-5889, ext. We have to be very careful about our perception around the country and the world, he says. The dont-tread-on-me residents in La Paz, however, told the acts architects they didnt want government regulation in their backyard. From Beckham to Messi: How much has MLS grown in a decade? 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Arizonans are right to be outraged that the State of Arizona would allow a Saudi-owned corporation to stick a straw in the ground and suck the water out for free," There are 2 additional forms Arizona well owners need to file. 4 min read Arizona should not be giving its water away to the Saudi Arabians, or anyone else for that matter. Alfalfa fields stretch for miles, and commercial wells can be seen from the road gushing the states precious and irreplaceable water at thousands of gallons per minute. In addition, Arizona faces the possibility of losing substantial amounts of Colorado River water when the federal government announces new action to combat low water levels in Lake Powell and Lake Mead. This patch of western Arizona has always been used for farm land previously, 4,430 acres of the farm had been irrigated to farm cotton and alfalfa, among other crops. Tribal water rights issues in Arizona date back to the earliest days of settlement by Anglo Americans. MINA, Saudi Arabia (AP) Muslim pilgrims in Mecca circled the Kaaba, Islams holiest site, and then converged on a vast tent camp in the nearby desert, officially Virgin Galactic just launched commercial flights. The Arizona Republics Rob ODell explains why a Saudi Arabian companys deal for Arizona water raises questions for taxpayers. For the most recent filing with the Court, the VVWU developed a database utilizing ADWR records that identifies the owner of record for every registered well and water claim in the Verde Valley. The Arizona Department of Water Resources released maps that show well levels on Almarais property in La Paz County rose in recent years, and the farms footprint has remained about the same since 2000. The purchase of La Paz farmland is not the first time the Arab world has kicked the tires on Arizona investment. Saudi Arabia, struggling with its own water shortages in the past decade, restricted the growth of some forage crops in the country. From the road, the fields appear just as otherworldly. Saudi firm isn't the only investor draining rural Arizona water (Reclamation photograph), http://www.usbr.gov/newsroom/speech/detail.cfm?RecordID=181, http://ag.arizona.edu/AZWATER/WRRC_Events_News/LPG/Layperson's_Guide_to_Arizona_Water.pdf, http://www.arizonalawreview.org/ALR2007/VOL492/Weldon_FINAL.pdf, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-108s437enr/pdf/BILLS-108s437enr.pdf, http://www.federalgrantswire.com/arizona-water-settlement-act-of-2004.html, http://www.becomingarizona.org/entries/water.html, Quagga Mussels Invade the Lower Colorado River. The Arizona Republics Rob ODell explains why a Saudi Arabian companys deal for Arizona water raises questions for taxpayers. Whether you bought property with a well already in place or subsequently had a well drilled, it is critical that all your well documents are in order and that you have properly filed, the 3 needed forms to assure you will be considered as a valid claimant for water rights. WebA Pima man in Sacaton works on an irrigation canal. The company can then pump unlimited amounts of groundwater for essentially no cost. What became clear to me is that food is the way to invest in water, he said. Already Almarai is operating at least 23 wells on the La Paz land, each capable of pumping out more than 100,000 gallons of water daily to feed the moisture-gluttonous crop up to 2.3 million gallons a day. That affects the people who have been here for generations, whose wells may run dry if the groundwater drops.. Katie Hobbs has signed a sweeping executive order to protect anyone involved with a legally obtained abortion from prosecution. Authorities have said they expect this year to approach pre-COVID levels of more than 2 million. Mexico are planning to play two games in England -- another fixture against South Korea at an English venue to be decided has been pencilled in for Sept. 12 -- with their mini tour due to start with a game against Saudi, who they defeated 2-1 during the group stage of Qatar 2022 last November. This is the story, he continues. Viewed as unfounded by some Arizona officials, concerns of resource-exploitation are unlikely to diminish in coming years particularly as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia embarks on an ambitious campaign to reinvent its global economic holdings in the wake of petroleums recent plummet. This image shows an Almarai logo in Cairo, Egypt, on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. The English Football Association would also be required to grant permission for the game to be staged in this country. GRACE Communications Foundation. Published 11:28 AM PDT, April 22, 2023. One player all 30 MLB teams should trade for (or away) this July. It is an outrage and a scandal at a time when the Saudi government is deliberately raising the price of gasoline for U.S. citizens by cutting back OPEC oil supplies. Keith Murfield, CEO of the Tempe-based dairy cooperative United Dairymen of Arizona, said Saudi Arabias growth of hay is the equivalent to exporting water overseas. Thats a good thing., Ruddell does add a caveat. More Information: We probably will not all live long enough for this suit to finally come to a close, but we will live long enough to see the window of opportunity to file our water right claims close forever. Also, the Court requires that any change in address or claimant name be reported on the appropriate forms within 30 days of the change. But China-bound hay is transported back in containers that arrive in the U.S. carrying electronics imports and otherwise return empty, thanks to our high trade deficit. China is the primary export market for U.S. hay. Al Dahra ACX Global Inc., a top U.S. hay exporter based in Bakersfield is owned by Al Dahra Agriculture Co. of United Arab Emirates. Complicating any solution politically is the fact that one of the larger operations uses Arizona groundwater to grow hay to ship to Saudi Arabia to feed cattle there. It has some relationships with Saudi Arabia. That whole idea that Phoenix shouldnt be here is one that disregards history, says the Kyl Centers Porter. Theyve been saving between 25 to 50 percent of water use compared to what was going on there before with the traditional flood irrigation method. Rose hints at some lingering anti-Arab prejudice in La Paz. Giving away more than $38 million of groundwater for free is both inequitable and unreasonable. The country has practically exhausted its own Because of our soil quality and weather conditions, were known for growing the best alfalfa anywhere on the planet, Rose says. When Mayes brought the inconsistencies in the applications to the attention of state officials, Moreover, several years ago, more than 500 La Paz County residents signed a petition that they hand-delivered to Gov. Historic Arizona mining town backs copper project on land that Native American groups say is sacred, Over 1,000 people remain evacuated as crews dig containment line around Arizona brush fire, Newly released body camera footage shows Border Patrol agents shooting a tribal member in Arizona, Arizona executive order safeguards abortion seekers and providers from prosecution. Human smuggler from Phoenix gets 3 years of prison for driving noncitizens to US, Gov. Four months ago, the La Paz County supervisors filed a complaint with Attorney General Mark Brnovich concerning the below-market Fondomonte lease and the groundwater giveaway. Instead of mongo-malls, we got a ginormous alfalfa farm, but the day is young: the Downtown skyscrapers were forecast for the 2020s and 2030s. CBS News obtained copies of several land leases dating back to 2014 that give Fondomonte rights to more than 6,000 acres of state-owned land and the groundwater that comes with it. So do the Saudis have an ulterior motive beyond feeding their cattle? http://www.gilariver.com/settlement.htm The State Department said a gunman who opened fire on the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and a local security guard working at the consulate were killed in an exchange of fire on Wednesday. Without this incredible network of monstrous engineering projects, Phoenix really shouldnt be there, Welland says, echoing Powells own words. But they feel exploited too, The unorthodox quest to find Kristin Smarts body, the last piece of an enduring mystery, Lakers free agency: Heres the latest about how their plans are shaping up, California lawmakers act after Taylor Swift ticket fiasco. In the same way, we are benefiting in terms of local jobs and tax dollars and local spending when the Saudis put a farm in our state. To comply with the Gift Clause, a government expenditure must (1) serve a public purpose, and (2) the consideration the public has paid must not far exceed the value received. April 28, 2023, at 12:09 a.m. It was residential.. As attorney general, I will work to put an end to these sweetheart Saudi deals. The Verde Valley Water Users (VVWU), the only water organization in the Verde Valley dedicated to protecting water rights in the Verde Valley, has teamed with Southwestern Environmental Consultants (SEC) to research the status of stream and well filings for landowners in the Verde Valley. June 23, 2022. With the Verde River the next watershed to be adjudicated by the Court, it is important that your water records be in order and that you support the Verde Valley Water Users in this ongoing fight for water rights in the Verde Valley.