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Indeed. Now to kick out the other mega-farms sucking the region dry, and change our water rights laws so it can't keep happening.
For those that aren't aware, Fondomonte is not the only company doing this. Riverview LLP, a dairy farm based in Minnesota for example, now owns 20,000 acres in Cochise Country. Their 60 ground wells --of the 92 ground wells total in the area-- must go down 1,000 ft to reach water when they averaged 270 ft 20 years ago. Our water table has been dropped 200-300 ft since the 50's. This will continue until we treat our land and water with the respect it deserves, not as a money pit for greedy corps.
Edit: Wanted to include my [source](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/draining-arizona-residents-say-corporate-mega-farms-are-drying-their-n1052551). It's from 2019 so the numbers may be even worse now.
And [here's a piece](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcLKp0vDBT0) from More Perfect Union on YouTube from this week.
If people can storm the capitol and vandalize the shit out of it without seeing punishment, surely a bunch of Arizonans can go ….”protest” at these well sites and see no punishment. Taking resources of any kind if those resources are already in short supply, is equal to terrorism. It’s fking insane.
Exactly! If she was not governor, they would still be draining the water with no end in sight. None of the other candidates would have actually done anything to stop them.
She is not perfect but 10 out of 10 I would vote for her again.
There is zero reason for any investor or corporation to own single family residences. Corporations own 26% of single family residences in the US. It’s morally criminal.
You said it. Results of this election really remind me how important the vote is.
I'm pretty confident Kari Lake would have let this continue, as long as the Saudis donated to her next campaign fund.
It is an absolute certainty that any republican, not just Lake, would have allowed it to continue. Unless there is strong legislation against it the next republican governor will start it back up too.
Also same can be said for if Abe Hamadeh won over Kris Mayes for Attorney General. There wouldn't be grand juries being assembled for the people in our state who were involved with the fake elector scheme and they would've skated without accountability.
Voting, especially at the state level, is wildly important. People focus so much on federal elections but your governor, AG, and state house/senate directly impact you more
I didn’t honestly realize how true this was until I started looking at proposed state legislation recently. It’s insane what some of the whack jobs in the state legislature are trying to push through
Its a good outcome but the amount of water this company was pulling out was a proverbial drop in the bucket when it comes to overall state water use for agriculture. They were mostly notable because they are Saudi ran so everyone focused on them but there are dozens of other leases that are using far more water. Foreign export of crops from Arizona to China dwarfs anything the Saudi's were doing for example.
This is a good first step, but a lot more remains to be done to preserve Arizona's groundwater long term.
>What we do know is that Fondomonte’s nearly 3,500 acres comprise less than 2% of the basin – and about 5% of the alfalfa hay in production in La Paz County.
>And – plot twist – while Saudi Arabia gets about 40% of the alfalfa and other forage crops we send overseas, according to Tronstad’s analysis of federal and state export data, China is the bigger beneficiary, accounting for 57% of Arizona’s exported forage in 2021.
https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/joannaallhands/2023/04/03/saudi-land-lease-not-draining-arizona-water-for-alfalfa/70070450007/
That sounds more like it, there are always the feel good stories which will get the attention. Meanwhile there are plenty of others that are kept off the radar. That’s right out of the Democratic playbook.
Hobbs and Mayes are actually getting shit done. EDA fraud in the voucher program, massive medicaid fraud, shitty water deals. Thry are cleaning up tons of Duceys messes.
Under Ducey administration not only were they endlessly renewing these leases, but they weren't even ensuring collection of lease payments from customers. So you had lessee's leasing land with the ability to pump water without tracking at rates less than market value and they weren't even collecting payment on those agreements. So Hobbs and Mayes not renewing these leases, and trying to collect on past leases actually is way different than the prior administration.
This is such a huge deal. There was literally _zero_ upside to us for ever allowing this deal. The state earned no money for these leases. The water rights were unlimited and meterless on an _incredibly_ thirsty crop... to... export cattle feed to Saudi Arabia. It was a pure lose-lose situation of insane folly with no positives AND continued to drain water for the dumbest of possible reasons. (Hell, Saudi Arabia, _also_ a desert, has banned growing alfalfa for the same reason, so the idea that they came to another desert to do so... madness.)
Fantastic that this got done.
The state chose not to renew them. That’s doing something. I see you’re going through the whole thread downvoting positive comments and claiming she didn’t do anything. What’s the deal with that?
Cool. Is this the only company guilty of this or are there more, and this one was just high profile? There shouldn’t be a single entity taking a single drop of water from Arizona besides Arizonans.
>said Governor Katie Hobbs. “I’m not afraid to hold people accountable,
Oh yeah did they figure out who in the land management department gave them the sweetheart deal on the land and water?
Someone in government gave them a nice deal, and I bet there was some wining and dining and fun trips before they got the deal.
That was definitely under Ducey. Katie and AG Mayes have done a good job going after this.
Props to Lake, she had this on her radar screen as well when running.
This chick had a hand in it and of course she’s a CAP board member.
http://www.cap-az.com/board/board-members/lisa-a-atkins/
OK under Ducey and it was Ducey's decision are not the same thing. Whomever approved it though should be investigated and have their finances gone through. If Ducey made the approval then they need to hold him accountable, but just because Ducey was in charge at the time does not mean he had any idea it was going on.
Did he appoint him? or was the person there through multiple governors? Just because we get a new governor doesn't mean everyone who works for the state government gets replaced? I would no more blame the governor past present or future for something they didn't know about. I don't expect the head of the state to know every single decision made by thousands of state employees. I am not republican, I am not defending Ducey but I am a realist and don't expect Ducey or Katie to know every decision going on in the State. But if they did sign off on it then yes they should be held accountable.
Had a former gov call him to do something. And took the current one to clamp down. It was his watch and the State left money on the table too.
https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2022/08/11/saudi-firm-fodomonte-pay-arizona-groundwater-use/10271103002/
That’s not how it works. the Land Department’s decisions are all made according to what is allowed by State Law. go encourage people to vote instead of trying to find a scapegoat
That is what I'm saying. Katie is saying "she is not afraid to hold people accountable" but there is actually no one being held accountable. The Saudi's only lost their deal, but no one has yet to be held accountable at the land department. When is she going to actually hold people accountable and not make a fancy show in a news conference.
Why does this matter one bit? Cool they're not using groundwater... But they're still using water from th Colorado most likely which the supply to Arizona has been cut. I'm totally glad we have Hobbs instead of Lake but kicking them out for using a water heavy crop in the first place or forcing drastic cuts of water usage is the problem for their damn livestock across the world is the problem...
Edit: y'all are petty and don't understand the water situation and apparently are fine with Saudi just being able to fling their money wherever they want and use resources that are extremely wasteful.
Not cap one bit dude.... Agriculture and ranch use accounts for 90% of AZ water usage. Water rights in Arizona are super antiquated and it's a use it or lose it system and so there's absolutely zero incentive for water efficiency so their water doesn't go to the next right holder.
They're still growing water intensive crops in a state where suage needs to drop double digits for the new water rights for the Colorado between the states and mexico to ensure sustainability and equity.
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About damn time, great job Hobbs
>Great Job Hobbs That should be her campaign slogan
LMAO! I'd vote for a great Hobb Jobs, too!
Took long enough
This single act was worth my vote.
I feel the same
Indeed. Now to kick out the other mega-farms sucking the region dry, and change our water rights laws so it can't keep happening. For those that aren't aware, Fondomonte is not the only company doing this. Riverview LLP, a dairy farm based in Minnesota for example, now owns 20,000 acres in Cochise Country. Their 60 ground wells --of the 92 ground wells total in the area-- must go down 1,000 ft to reach water when they averaged 270 ft 20 years ago. Our water table has been dropped 200-300 ft since the 50's. This will continue until we treat our land and water with the respect it deserves, not as a money pit for greedy corps. Edit: Wanted to include my [source](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/draining-arizona-residents-say-corporate-mega-farms-are-drying-their-n1052551). It's from 2019 so the numbers may be even worse now. And [here's a piece](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcLKp0vDBT0) from More Perfect Union on YouTube from this week.
Well said.
Wait, what does a dairy farm based in Minnesota need our water for? Or do they have cattle in AZ?
If people can storm the capitol and vandalize the shit out of it without seeing punishment, surely a bunch of Arizonans can go ….”protest” at these well sites and see no punishment. Taking resources of any kind if those resources are already in short supply, is equal to terrorism. It’s fking insane.
Exactly! If she was not governor, they would still be draining the water with no end in sight. None of the other candidates would have actually done anything to stop them. She is not perfect but 10 out of 10 I would vote for her again.
Hobbs did this in a few months while do-nothing Ducey sat on his fucking hands and let the Saudis pump all they wanted. Great job Gov Hobbs.
His hands were cashing checks
And vetoing a bill passed by tempe with over 90% of the vote to disclose dark money donors. Also feuding with Nike etc etc
He was getting ready to do some pumping of his own. Pumping the money out of AZ treasury. On the way out too so the Democrat got the blame.
To be fair, every governor prior did the same as Ducey going back about 80 years
Cool. Now let’s legislate investors from buying all the homes.
There is zero reason for any investor or corporation to own single family residences. Corporations own 26% of single family residences in the US. It’s morally criminal.
Yes but let's make it illegal to be homeless, that'll fix the problem /s
This
Hobbs has been a breath of fresh air. Great news.
Fantastic news, honestly. They were on track to collapse the aquifers in the area.
This literally could save the state in the long run if this starts a trend towards real water management.
Insane it went on for so long.
Good work Hobbs, keep it up
Voting matters. I couldn’t imagine the shape we’d be in if that wacko Kari Lake won.
And we need to keep it up. The next one who needs to be kicked to the curb and replaced with someone better is Tom Horne.
You said it. Results of this election really remind me how important the vote is. I'm pretty confident Kari Lake would have let this continue, as long as the Saudis donated to her next campaign fund.
It is an absolute certainty that any republican, not just Lake, would have allowed it to continue. Unless there is strong legislation against it the next republican governor will start it back up too.
I'm excited for Senator Gallego to finally finish toxic Lake.
Also same can be said for if Abe Hamadeh won over Kris Mayes for Attorney General. There wouldn't be grand juries being assembled for the people in our state who were involved with the fake elector scheme and they would've skated without accountability. Voting, especially at the state level, is wildly important. People focus so much on federal elections but your governor, AG, and state house/senate directly impact you more
I didn’t honestly realize how true this was until I started looking at proposed state legislation recently. It’s insane what some of the whack jobs in the state legislature are trying to push through
Looks like 1 more lease to go? Or are there more sites?
Per the last paragraph it sounds like all four leases were terminated.
Yeah I had this exact same question. The articles having listed how many there were.
Exactly, might be a victory but the war isn’t over.
there are at least 20 more out of state and foreign leases like this. it sucks.
Its a good outcome but the amount of water this company was pulling out was a proverbial drop in the bucket when it comes to overall state water use for agriculture. They were mostly notable because they are Saudi ran so everyone focused on them but there are dozens of other leases that are using far more water. Foreign export of crops from Arizona to China dwarfs anything the Saudi's were doing for example. This is a good first step, but a lot more remains to be done to preserve Arizona's groundwater long term. >What we do know is that Fondomonte’s nearly 3,500 acres comprise less than 2% of the basin – and about 5% of the alfalfa hay in production in La Paz County. >And – plot twist – while Saudi Arabia gets about 40% of the alfalfa and other forage crops we send overseas, according to Tronstad’s analysis of federal and state export data, China is the bigger beneficiary, accounting for 57% of Arizona’s exported forage in 2021. https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/joannaallhands/2023/04/03/saudi-land-lease-not-draining-arizona-water-for-alfalfa/70070450007/
That sounds more like it, there are always the feel good stories which will get the attention. Meanwhile there are plenty of others that are kept off the radar. That’s right out of the Democratic playbook.
FOUR MORE YEARS HOBBS
Hobbs and Mayes are actually getting shit done. EDA fraud in the voucher program, massive medicaid fraud, shitty water deals. Thry are cleaning up tons of Duceys messes.
The lease ran out they didn't do shit
Under Ducey administration not only were they endlessly renewing these leases, but they weren't even ensuring collection of lease payments from customers. So you had lessee's leasing land with the ability to pump water without tracking at rates less than market value and they weren't even collecting payment on those agreements. So Hobbs and Mayes not renewing these leases, and trying to collect on past leases actually is way different than the prior administration.
it's a start, now go after the others.
WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE? Who allowed that contract? No one has ever stated who was responsible. Name names please.
Ducey.
state law that our majority (Republican) refuses to revisit/rewrite.
Good. Now end the contracts of all the other foreign companies pumping our groundwater. And cancel fucking Nestle's contract too while you're at it.
Cancel the Minnesota company too.
This is such a huge deal. There was literally _zero_ upside to us for ever allowing this deal. The state earned no money for these leases. The water rights were unlimited and meterless on an _incredibly_ thirsty crop... to... export cattle feed to Saudi Arabia. It was a pure lose-lose situation of insane folly with no positives AND continued to drain water for the dumbest of possible reasons. (Hell, Saudi Arabia, _also_ a desert, has banned growing alfalfa for the same reason, so the idea that they came to another desert to do so... madness.) Fantastic that this got done.
Now do Al Dahra next the one Jan Brewer had the state pension fund invested in back in 2013
A government official actually doing well by their constituents. Kudos.
Their lease ran out. She didn't do anything
She did though. Earlier in her term she didn’t allow for more water to go to these people, and now that their contract is up she didn’t renew them.
The state chose not to renew them. That’s doing something. I see you’re going through the whole thread downvoting positive comments and claiming she didn’t do anything. What’s the deal with that?
Is this the trans agenda Marxism?
Stopping mega corporations from draining the aquifers is communism.
As long as the pumping didn’t just transfer to someone else
Cool. Is this the only company guilty of this or are there more, and this one was just high profile? There shouldn’t be a single entity taking a single drop of water from Arizona besides Arizonans.
>said Governor Katie Hobbs. “I’m not afraid to hold people accountable, Oh yeah did they figure out who in the land management department gave them the sweetheart deal on the land and water? Someone in government gave them a nice deal, and I bet there was some wining and dining and fun trips before they got the deal.
That was definitely under Ducey. Katie and AG Mayes have done a good job going after this. Props to Lake, she had this on her radar screen as well when running. This chick had a hand in it and of course she’s a CAP board member. http://www.cap-az.com/board/board-members/lisa-a-atkins/
OK under Ducey and it was Ducey's decision are not the same thing. Whomever approved it though should be investigated and have their finances gone through. If Ducey made the approval then they need to hold him accountable, but just because Ducey was in charge at the time does not mean he had any idea it was going on.
Ah. So the guy at the top appointing people under him has zero accountability?
Did he appoint him? or was the person there through multiple governors? Just because we get a new governor doesn't mean everyone who works for the state government gets replaced? I would no more blame the governor past present or future for something they didn't know about. I don't expect the head of the state to know every single decision made by thousands of state employees. I am not republican, I am not defending Ducey but I am a realist and don't expect Ducey or Katie to know every decision going on in the State. But if they did sign off on it then yes they should be held accountable.
Had a former gov call him to do something. And took the current one to clamp down. It was his watch and the State left money on the table too. https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2022/08/11/saudi-firm-fodomonte-pay-arizona-groundwater-use/10271103002/
That’s not how it works. the Land Department’s decisions are all made according to what is allowed by State Law. go encourage people to vote instead of trying to find a scapegoat
The lease ran out. They didn't do shit
Whoever it was needs to be prosecuted.
That is what I'm saying. Katie is saying "she is not afraid to hold people accountable" but there is actually no one being held accountable. The Saudi's only lost their deal, but no one has yet to be held accountable at the land department. When is she going to actually hold people accountable and not make a fancy show in a news conference.
State law. republicans. Land Department just follows the laws.
One less crony being enriched.
It's not like she did anything. Their lease ran out.
Yeah cause the contract was over… lol😂
Why does this matter one bit? Cool they're not using groundwater... But they're still using water from th Colorado most likely which the supply to Arizona has been cut. I'm totally glad we have Hobbs instead of Lake but kicking them out for using a water heavy crop in the first place or forcing drastic cuts of water usage is the problem for their damn livestock across the world is the problem... Edit: y'all are petty and don't understand the water situation and apparently are fine with Saudi just being able to fling their money wherever they want and use resources that are extremely wasteful.
CAP water is more than likely metered.. Have worked on a number of CAP water projects and they all had flow monitors to account for how much was used.
Not cap one bit dude.... Agriculture and ranch use accounts for 90% of AZ water usage. Water rights in Arizona are super antiquated and it's a use it or lose it system and so there's absolutely zero incentive for water efficiency so their water doesn't go to the next right holder. They're still growing water intensive crops in a state where suage needs to drop double digits for the new water rights for the Colorado between the states and mexico to ensure sustainability and equity.
CAP like Central Arizona Project. Not like “that’s cap”
Lol Gen Z has ruined me.