ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Phoenix, Arizona
groundwater exemptions;
management periods
Purpose
Continues exemptions from
irrigation water duties, water conservation requirements and groundwater withdrawal
fees for three irrigation districts in the waterlogged southwest portion of the
Phoenix Active Management Area.
Background
The
state Groundwater Management Code, adopted in 1980, provides for the
progressive management and conservation of groundwater in areas of the state
where groundwater supplies are diminishing faster than they are being
replenished by recharge. The areas
subject to the most stringent conservation requirements under the Code are called
Active Management Areas (AMAs) and there are currently five that exist in the
state: the Phoenix AMA, the Tucson AMA, the Prescott AMA, the Pinal AMA and the
Santa Cruz AMA. Groundwater management
under the Code is accomplished through the adoption and enforcement of a series
of five management plans for each of the AMAs over a 45-year period. The Department of Water Resources (DWR) is
responsible for the adoption of these plans, which spell out the conservation
requirements. The management periods
are as follows:
First Management Period: 1980 - 1990
Second Management Period: 1990 - 2000
Third Management Period: 2000 - 2010
Fourth Management Period: 2010 - 2020
Fifth Management Period: 2020 - 2025
There are certain areas
within AMAs where groundwater overdraft is not occurring and in fact, because
of geology, hydrogeology and drainage, the condition of waterlogging exists.
Waterlogging occurs where groundwater levels are so high that the condition
creates land use problems if not addressed.
As a result of several hydrologic studies conducted in the 1980s,
legislation was enacted in 1988 to exempt specified irrigation districts in
waterlogged areas in the Phoenix AMA from irrigation water duties and
conservation requirements through the end of the third management period
(2010). The three irrigation districts
that are exempted are located in the southwestern portion of the Phoenix AMA
and include the Arlington Canal Company, the Buckeye Water Conservation and
Drainage District and the St. John’s Irrigation District. There are requirements in the 1988
legislation that require the Director of DWR to review the hydrologic
conditions in this area of the Phoenix AMA and report to the Governor and the
Legislature by the end of 2005 with recommendations on whether to continue the
exemptions from the Code for the three irrigation districts.
A study of the waterlogged
conditions in the Buckeye Water Conservation and Drainage District conducted by
a hydrogeology consulting firm by the name of Errol L. Montgomery &
Associates Inc., was published in December 2000. That study confirmed that the
waterlogged conditions in this area of the Phoenix AMA continue.
H. B. 2020 continues the
existing exemptions for the three irrigation districts through the end of the
fourth management period (2020) and delays the review of the waterlogged
conditions by the Director or DWR and the report to the Governor and the
Legislature on the need to continue the exemptions, until the end of 2015.
There is no fiscal impact to
the state general fund associated with H.B. 2020.
Provisions
1. Continues, through the fourth management period (2020), the exemption from irrigation or immediate water duties, groundwater conservation requirements and the groundwater withdrawal fee for the Arlington Canal Company, the Buckeye Water Conservation and Drainage District and the St. John’s Irrigation District.
2. Continues the annual water duty exemption fee ($.25 per irrigation acre) through the fourth management period for these districts.
3. Delays the report to the Governor and the Legislature on the recommendation for extending the exemptions for these irrigation districts from December 15, 2005 to December 15, 2015.
4. Makes technical and conforming changes.
5. Provides for a general effective date.
NRA 1/24/01 DPA 8-1-0-1
3rd Read 2/5/01 48-6-6-0
Prepared by Senate Staff
February 13, 2001