ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

57th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session

Majority Research Staff

HB 2099: long-term storage credits; shortage; prohibition

Sponsor: Representative Griffin, LD 19

Committee on Natural Resources, Energy & Water

Overview

Prohibits a municipal provider from storing Colorado River water in underground storage facilities and accruing long-term storage credits (LTSCs) from that stored water, during a period of shortage on the Colorado River.

History

The Colorado River provides approximately 12.4 million acre-feet of water for the states of Arizona, Colorado, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. The Colorado River, experiencing a historic drought, has had a decline in annual water output since 2000 (USGS Water Data)(CRS Report No. R45546).

The Central Arizona Project (CAP) was established on September 30, 1968 by the Colorado River Basin Project Act (USPL 1967, Chapter 57, page 380). Subsequently, the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD), a special taxing district, was established for the purposes of:

1) contracting with the U.S. Secretary of Interior for delivery of Arizona’s CAP water;

2) repaying the federal government for the state’s share of CAP construction costs; and

3) operation and maintenance of the CAP aqueduct (A.R.S. Title 48, Chapter 22).

Current law allows a person to store and save water underground if they have obtained the appropriate permit (A.R.S. § 45-802.01). Those who store water underground for over a year and meet additional requirements can earn long-term storage credits (LTSCs) that are credited to a long-term storage account (A.R.S. § 45-852.01). LTSCs can be recovered in the future for various uses, including demonstrating an assured water supply or meeting groundwater replenishment obligations (A.R.S. § 45-855.01).

Provisions

1. Prohibits the Director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources from crediting or assigning a municipal provider any stored water, stored during a declared period of shortage on the Colorado River, that is:

a. Colorado River water; or

b. CAP water. (Sec. 1, 2)

2. Prohibits a municipal provider from placing an order with a multi-county groundwater replenishment district for the delivery of CAP water that the provider intends to store in an underground storage facility, during a declared period of shortage on the Colorado River. (Sec. 3)

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6. Initials CW HB 2099

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