Parker Live News from the Parker Strip since 2009.
The Arizona Attorney General has announced legal action by her office against a Saudi-owned farming operation that has met with public scrutiny over its usage of La Paz County water, which it uses to grow alfalfa for export to Saudi Arabia.
AG Kris Mayes announced the legal action, saying that the company, Fondomonte, is violating Arizona’s nuisance laws by using an excessive amount of water. It is considered a tricky subject because the company has leases for the land which include entitlements to pump groundwater. The leases do not stipulate a limit to the amount of groundwater pumped. But there has been significant public outrage at the idea that the state’s water, already overutilized and in dwindling supply, is being used at such high levels to support the resources of another country.
In the lawsuit, the Attorney General is accusing the company of threatening public health and safety, saying that the company has “caused devastating consequences for the Ranegras Plain Basin, putting the health and future of the residents of La Paz County at risk.”
Mayes is hoping to get a court order which limits the amount of groundwater Fondomonte can pump on the farm near Vicksburg, Arizona.
Mayes’ lawsuit acknowledges that Arizona has failed to protect its “precious groundwater resource” with its existing laws, but says the company “is not permitted to cause a public nuisance that injures the health and interferes with the entire community’s comfortable enjoyment of life or property on the Ranegras Basin.”
Fondomonte Arizona released the following statement to state media in response to the lawsuit:
“Fondomonte remains committed to progressive, efficient agricultural practices on all its operations. … The company has invested significantly to bring the latest conservation technology and applies environmentally sustainable practices on these long-established farms. Fondomonte has continued to develop responsibly during its time farming in the state and the company complies with all state regulations. We find the allegations of the Attorney General totally unfounded, and we will defend any potential action against Fontomonte and our rights vigorously before the competent authorities.”
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Parker Live‘s first story about Fondomonte in 2015 can be found HERE. Subsequent stories HERE and HERE.
