Arizona AG sues megafarm for excessive groundwater pumping

PHOENIX (CN) — Following through on a promise made in April, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes on Wednesday sued a corporate megafarm she says is responsible for irreversible damage to underground water aquifers and wells in La Paz County.

Since 2014, Fondomonte Arizona has operated in rural Arizona, where groundwater pumping is virtually lawless, growing alfalfa to feed cattle in Saudi Arabia.

“Fondemonte’s unsustainable groundwater pumping has caused devastating consequences for the Ranegras Plain basin, putting the health and future of the residents of La Paz county at risk,” Mayes said. “Arizona law is clear: No company has the right to endanger an entire community’s health and safety for its own gain.”

Though Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs previously celebrated her cancellation of Fondomonte’s lease in the Butler Valley amid concerns that precious groundwater was being taken from Arizonans to feed cattle on the other side of the globe, the factory farm still operates in the small town of Vicksburg on the Ranegras Plain basin near the California-Arizona border.

There, Mayes says the farming operation pumped more than 31,000 acre-feet of water in 2023.

“Fondomonte’s pumping in one year could have supported 91,000 households,” Mayes said in a press conference Wednesday morning.

In the lawsuit, filed in Arizona state court, Mayes accuses Fondomonte of violating Arizona public nuisance law by threatening public health, safety and community infrastructure in the area. The farm’s over-pumping has accelerated the decline in groundwater levels and caused land subsidence — in which the soil compacts and “sinks” due to a new lack of water beneath it — by as many as 9.8 inches in some areas.

Mayes is seeking a court order to declare Fondomonte’s farming activities a public nuisance, and to block the company from further excessive pumping.

But little-to-no case law exists that would define “excessive” pumping.

“Excessive is dewatering nearby wells,” Mayes said. “Excessive is pumping so much that it damages the quality of what’s left."

“There’s certainly case law on nuisance,” she added. “And we’ll be going through that throughout the course of the case.”

Fondomonte hasn’t yet responded to the lawsuit.

Mayes, a Democrat, blamed the Republican-controlled state Legislature for allowing excessive pumping to grow out of control through inaction. In fact, the Legislature launched an investigation into Mayes after she first threatened a public nuisance suit that eventually led to an unanswered call for her impeachment.

In response to Mayes’ threats, Republicans introduced House Bill 2124, which would have amended Arizona’s Right To Farm law to require the plaintiff in a nuisance case seeking to limit water use to pay for the defendant’s legal fees regardless of the outcome. Another amendment to that bill would have blocked the attorney general from pursuing nuisance cases against agricultural operations, but Hobbs blocked the whole package with her veto stamp in April.

“The Right to Farm Act is not a blanket shield against nuisance lawsuits,” Mayes said.

Mayes complimented Hobbs, also a Democrat, for ending Fondomonte’s lease in Butler Valley, and suggested that the rest of Fondomonte’s leases should be canceled as well.

“If it were up to me, the Vicksburg lease would have already been canceled,” Mayes said. “I still think it’s good that the governor canceled the Butler Valley leases. That was a good first step. I’m gonna provide her further evidence for why she should cancel the Vicksburg leases.”

Hobbs showed support for Mayes’ lawsuit in a written statement.

“Arizonans are demanding action from elected officials who have stuck their heads in the sand and ignored the challenges we’ve faced for far too long,” Hobbs told Courthouse News. “That’s why I’ve taken action to hold Fondomonte accountable, including ending their operation in the Butler Valley Basin. While I have not reviewed the complaint in this matter, I know the attorney general is serious about tackling the water challenges we face, and look forward to further work with her to secure our state’s water future.”

Atypically, Mayes’ request for relief doesn’t include a request for a preliminary injunction or a temporary restraining order.

“We want to succeed in this lawsuit,” she said. “If we develop evidence in the course of discovery that would support that, we would certainly consider amending the complaint.”

In the opposite corner of the state, Arizonans in Cochise County are facing nearly identical issues with dry wells and subsiding land. Mayes celebrated Hobbs’ recent move to create an Active Management Area in Cochise County’s Willcox Basin, but floated the idea of suing Riverview Dairy, which is similarly blamed for the overpumping of groundwater there as Fondomonte is in La Paz County.

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