HB2132 ~ Points to Ponder

UPDATE: This bill is being held in the Senate by Chairman Bob Burns.

1. This is probably the only water with an industrial only designation, but that doesn't make it a good thing. Local officials should be who decide which is the best use at any given time. Certainly Kingman, LHC, BHC and MVIDD all have water which is used by industry and all are recruiting additional industry. Related issue : do high water use industries make sense in a desert?

2. Industry certainly could have used the temporary water since it could have been leased to them long term. We also had permanent water which could have been leased to an industry. We have not been approached by a single industry seeking water since our formation in 1996. No doubt it is more valuable as a permanent supply but , again, who should be making decisions on the best use of water in our local communities?

3. It is prudent to take steps to avoid losing this water under the "use it or lose it" doctrine. Kingman's allocation would have been lost to the Phoenix area if MCWA had not been formed to facilitate its transfer to Mohave County's river communities.

4.. If there were a reasonably priced way to get Colorado River water to Griffith Energy and nearby industrial properties the City of Kingman would have kept their allocation. The construction and operating costs of such a pipeline are cost prohibitive for such a small (3500a/f) amount of water.

House Water and Ag Agenda

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON WATER AND AGRICULTURE

DATE: Thursday, March 27, 2008
ROOM: HHR 1
TIME: 9:30 A.M. NOTE TIME CHANGE
Members:
Mr. Alvarez Mrs. Pancrazi Mr. Tom
Mr. Brown Mr. Paton Mr. Kavanagh, Vice-Chairman
Ms. Burns J Mr. Stump Mrs. Mason, Chairman
Mrs. Groe

Bills

SB1120
_____
navigable stream adjudication commission; continuation
(Flake, Brown, Burns J, et al)
WA, RULES

SB1158
_____
continuation; veterinary medical examining board
(Gray C, Nelson)
WA, RULES

*SB1168
_____
department of agriculture omnibus act
(Arzberger, Aguirre, Landrum Taylor, et al)

SB1181
_____
Arizona beef council; sunset continuation
(Flake)
WA, RULES

*SB1289
_____
flood protection districts; financing
(Flake)

SB1326
_____
exempt wells; internal reference corrections
(Flake, Aguirre, Arzberger, et al)
WA, RULES

*SB1373
_____
poultry husbandry
(Burns, Aguirre, Arzberger, et al)

*SB1380
_____
drought emergency groundwater transfers
(Arzberger, Hale, Miranda, et al)

SB1394
_____
racing; commission; department; continuation
(Gray C)
WA, RULES

*If assigned

HB 2132 is a Good Thing for Mohave County

MOHAVE COUNTY WATER AUTHORITY
Tom Griffin, Chairman
Maureen R. George, General Counsel
P.O Box 2419
Bullhead City, Arizona 86430

HB 2132 is a Good Thing for Residents of Mohave County.

The Mohave County Water Authority (MCWA) is pleased to announce the progress to date of HB 2132 through the Arizona legislature. This bill, sponsored at our request by Representatives Nancy Mclain and Trish Groe, makes available for full use by our members, Bullhead City (BHCj, Lake Havasu City (lHC), Mohave County Water District (MCWOl. Mohave Valley Irrigation and Drainage District (MVIDD), Golden Shores Irrigation District (G510), City of Kingman and Mohave County, 3500 acre feet of 4th priority Colorado River water. Our members unanimously voted in August 2007 to request this legislation.

Contrary to recent news reports:

(1) this is a very good thing for reSidents of the river communities as well as the City of Kingman, which would receive funds for water resource improvements. It does not take away the water, it in fact makes it available for all uses, including industrial.

(2) The water is currently under contract to MCWA and the contract with the Department of the Interior provides that it may be used for all municipal and industrial purposes. It is a State law restriction which imposes the industrial use limitation. The water has been available for industrial use for ten plus years and not one application has been requested. Our members are very concerned about the loss of this water if it is not put to beneficial use by adding it to the water portfolio of our various members.

(3) Members Kingman, BHC, and LHC already have a portion of their water portfolio used by industry and all are actively pursuing industrial development.

(4) The water has not yet been subcontracted to anyone.

MCWA, in 2007, was successful in getting this water under contract. We need to be sure it is put to the best use, as determined by our various member agencies through their eleeted or appointed governing bodies.

Mayor Mark Nexsen of Lake Havasu City, Mayor Jack Hakim of Bullhead City, MCWA Chairman Tom Griffin and Mohave County Supervisor Tom Sockwell have all testified at the legislature in favor of this legislation which has broadbased support in the water community statewide.

As noted by Chairman Tom Griffin: "This water is for use by our members and their citizens, not a special interest group. We ask these citizens to let our legislators know of their support."

HB 2132~Supervisor Tom Sockwell Statement of Support

SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE MARCH 19, 2008
CHAIRMAN FLAKE & MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE:

Good afternoon. I am Tom Sockwell, a member of the Mohave County Board of Supervisors and the County's appointed representative to the Mohave County Water Authority. I am here to urge your support of HB 2132. For those of you who may not know, the members of the Authority, in addition to Mohave County, are Bullhead City, Lake Havasu City, the City of Kingman, Mohave Water Conservation District, Mohave Valley Irrigation and Drainage District and Golden Shores Irrigation District. The members voted unanimously to seek the legislation which is before you today as HB 2132.

The purpose of this legislation is to eliminate the industrial use restriction on a portion of Mohave County Water Authority's (Authority) Colorado River allocation in order to make said water available for all municipal and industrial uses, including industrial, commercial and residential uses.

Industrial uses are defined in ARS 45-2201 (8) as follows: 8. "Industrial use" means a non-agricultural use of water not supplied by a city, town or private water company, including animal industry use as defined in § 45-402. Since MCWA's formation in 1996 it has not received a single request for water for an industrial use. During that same time frame our members have been looking for additional water for municipal purposes (which includes industrial uses).

The Authority's members have done water resource planning, drought planning, and water conservation planning and implementation in order to deal responsibly with water resource issues. These efforts, however, still leave Mohave County's river communities, both incorporated and unincorporated, without sufficient water. This legislation would serve to restore to those Mohave County communities, for full use, 3500 alf of 4th priority water always intended for such use, consistent with the Authority's contract with the Bureau of Reclamation.

The water has not yet been allocated among our members since passage of this legislation is necessary to put it to full use. Authority policy is to first offer the water to Authority members based on need as supported by the water resource demands of the various members. Four of our members have expressed an interest in acquiring this water if the industrial use limitation is removed, including unincorporated areas in Mohave Valley and Golden Shores. In fact Golden Shores needed this water yesterday but we needed to wait for the Arizona Water Settlements Act to be effective. One of the provisions of this settlement was that this water would be restored to MCWA for all municipal and industrial purposes. One of the reasons the Authority has been successful to date is the ability of our members to assess their various needs and fairly apportion its resources in response to same and seeks this legislation to permit it to continue doing so.

I am here, therefore, to seek your approval of HB 2132 which will eliminate the industrial restriction on the 3500 a/f. This would then result in additional water being available to Authority members for municipal use as well as providing the City of Kingman with additional funds to develop its groundwater resources. With passage of this legislation Kingman's additional water developed with these funds, as well as the water which would be subcontracted to our members, would be available for a wide range of uses as determined by the elected officials and boards of our various members to whom subcontracts would be made available. Included in those uses would most certainly be industrial uses as illustrated, for example, by the development of industrial parks in Kingman, Lake Havasu City, and Bullhead City and the importance those communities place on industrial development. Likewise as Golden Shores and the Mohave Valley develop they will see increased demand for water for ALL uses, which will in all likelihood include industrial uses. The distribution of this water, however, should be left to those local communities who are best positioned to assess the competing demands in their area.

Thank you for your attention.
Tom Sockwell
Mohave County Board of Supervisors
P.O. Box 7000
Kingman, Arizona 86402
928 753-9141
Tom.Sockwell@co.mohave.az.us

Arizona Municipal Water User's Association Weekly Update

UPDATE: I look forward to talking with Mohave County Supervisor Buster Johnson regarding his concerns about this particular piece of legislation.

HB 2132 County Water Authority; Colorado River
AMWUA Position: Support
MCWA Postition: Support

Bill Provisions:

HB 2132 amends ARS § 45-2244 to eliminate the industrial use restriction on a portion of Mohave County Water Authority’s Colorado River allocation.

Background:

In 1994, legislation was adopted to provide for the formation of the Mohave County Water Authority (MCWA).

The members of MCWA are Bullhead City, City of Kingman, Lake Havasu City, Mohave County, Golden Shores Irrigation District, Mohave Valley Irrigation and Drainage District, and the Mohave Water Conservation District.

The impetus to forming MCWA was to put to use the City of Kingman’s Colorado River contract for 18,500 acre-feet of 4th priority water, while at the same time providing Kingman with funds to develop its groundwater resources. A.R.S. § 45-2244 prescribes the uses for which this water may be used. Late in the negotiations, the Department of Interior set aside 3,500 acre-feet of the 18,500 acre feet for other uses, leaving MCWA with 3,500 acre-feet of 5th and 6th priority water, which is a less stable supply than the higher priority, 4th priority water. This 3,500 acre-feet was recently converted back to 4th priority water pursuant to provisions in the Arizona Water Settlements Agreement and would now be available to the MCWA as a permanent supply, however, A.R.S. §45-2244 A.2. limits the 3,500 acre-feet to industrial uses. Industrial uses are defined in A.R.S. §45-2201 (8) as a “nonagricultural use of water not supplied by a city, town or private water company, including animal industry use as defined in § 45-402.”

Since MCWA’s formation in 1996, it has not received a single request for water for an industrial use. During that same time frame, MCWA’s members have sought additional water for municipal purposes, which can include industrial uses.

The MCWA Board voted unanimously to seek this legislation at its meeting held September 25, 2007.

Issues:

This legislation would result in additional water for municipal as well as industrial uses. It would provide the City of Kingman with additional funds to develop its groundwater resources.

Status

HB 2132 was heard in the House Water and Agriculture Committee on Thursday, February 7 and passed unanimously, unamended. Community (LHC and BHC) representatives spoke on behalf of the bill.

HB 2132 was heard in the House Counties, Municipalities and Military Affairs Committee on February 12. Rep.McLain testified in support of the bill and reiterated that the Mohave County Water Authority had never received a request to use the 3,500 acre-foot Colorado River allocation for an industrial purpose. The bill passed unanimously.

HB 2132 was heard in the Senate Natural Resources and Rural Affairs Committee on March 19. LHC representatives testified in support of the bill, as did one of the Mohave County supervisors. Another member of the Mohave County Board of Supervisors testified in opposition to the legislation, expressing concern that the communities’ economies would suffer if water were not available to support industry needs. It was pointed out that the legislation did not limit the use of the water strictly to municipal purposes. The water could be used for municipal and industrial purposes.

Statewide Water Advisory Group Meeting

Friday, March 14, 2008 is the next Full SWAG Meeting

Meeting Time is 10:00a.m. to 12:00p.m.
Arizona Department of Water Resouces
3550 N. Central Avenue
2nd Floor Upper/Middle Verde Conference Room

-----THIS MEETING IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC-----

***If you have any questions regarding this meeting please contact:Michelle Moreno Direct Line: (602) 771-8530 orNan Flores Direct Line: (602) 771-8526

Water Adequacy Meeting in Parker

Arizona Department of Water Resources
3550 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona 85012
Telephone 602-771-8586
Fax 602-771-8689
Web Page: www.azwater.gov

NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING

ADWR has initiated an informal stakeholder’s group to discuss proposed rule amendments of the assured and adequate water supply rules related to modifications required by SB 1575, the “Adequacy Bill” recently passed by the Legislature.

Date: Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Place: La Paz County Board of Supervisor's office meeting room
1108 Joshua Avenue, Parker, Arizona, 85344

The meeting is open to the general public. A copy of the agenda for the meeting is posted below.

AGENDA : Adequacy Rule Modification

Initiation of Informal Stakeholder process (February – June)

Initiation of Formal rule process (July – October, effective November)

Areas to be modified:
· Public Notice of applications (March)
· Criteria to include water supply projects completed in 20 years (March)
Criteria to estimate water demand for any projected use in the same GW basin (April)
· Aquifer specific criteria for physical availability (June)
· Cleanup/Comment response, & Summary (June - July)

Summary of Adequacy Bill (SB 1575)

Guidelines for Exemptions

Close

Persons with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation, such as a sign language interpreter, by contacting the Arizona Department of Water Resources at (602) 771-8500. Requests should be made as early as possible to allow time to arrange the accommodation.

Arizona Municipal Water User's Association Weekly Update

The third edition of AMWUA's 2008 Legislative Summary is now available on the AMWUA website. The summary is usually posted the close of business every Friday evening during the Legislative Session.

The link to view, download, and print the document is:
http://www.amwua.org/legislative/legislativesummary-2008.pdf

HB2132 ~ Water Legislation ~ Committee Voting Next Week

Mohave County Water Authority proposed water legislation is schedule to be heard in the Water and Agriculture Committee next Thursday, February 7, 2008 at 9:30 am. Please go to http://www.blogger.com/www.azleg.gov to log on in support of this important piece of Colorado River water legislation sponsored by Representative Nancy McLain and myself.

Summary of Proposed Water Legislation by AMWUA

Arizona Municipal Water Users Association’s LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY2008 is now available on their website. The summary is updated weekly and includes descriptions of proposed water-related legislation and it's current status in the legislative process.

Mohave County Water Authority Proposed Legislation: HB2132

HB 2132 County Water Authority; Colorado River

(Sponsors: Representatives McLain, Burges, Groe; Senator Aguirre)

Bill Provisions

HB 2132 amends ARS § 45-2244 to eliminate the industrial use restriction on a portion of
Mohave County Water Authority’s Colorado River allocation.

Background

In 1994, legislation was adopted to provide for the formation of the Mohave County Water
Authority (MCWA). The members of MCWA are Bullhead City, City of Kingman, Lake
Havasu City, Mohave County, Golden Shores Irrigation District, Mohave Valley Irrigation and
Drainage District, and the Mohave Water Conservation District.

The impetus to forming MCWA was to put to use the City of Kingman’s Colorado River
contract for 18,500 acre-feet of 4th priority water, while at the same time providing Kingman
with funds to develop its groundwater resources. A.R.S. § 45-2244 prescribes the uses for which
this water may be used.

Late in the negotiations, the Department of Interior set aside 3,500 acre-feet of the 18,500 acrefeet for other uses, leaving MCWA with 3,500 acre-feet of 5th and 6th priority water, which is a less stable supply than the higher priority, 4th priority water. This 3,500 acre-feet was recently converted back to 4th priority water pursuant to provisions in the Arizona Water Settlements Agreement and would now be available to the MCWA as a permanent supply, however, A.R.S. § 45-2244 A.2. limits the 3,500 acre-feet to industrial uses. Industrial uses are defined in A.R.S. § 45-2201 (8) as a “nonagricultural use of water not supplied by a city, town or private water company, including animal industry use as defined in § 45-402.”

Since MCWA’s formation in 1996, it has not received a single request for water for an industrial use. During that same time frame, MCWA’s members have sought additional water for municipal purposes, which can include industrial uses.

The MCWA Board voted unanimously to seek this legislation at its meeting held September 25, 2007.

This legislation would result in additional water for municipal as well as industrial uses. It
would provide the City of Kingman with additional funds to develop its groundwater resources.