Big Chino; groundwater withdrawal; mitigation

HB2723 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
Big Chino; groundwater withdrawal; mitigation

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HB 2723

Introduced by

Representative
Bliss

AN
ACT

Amending section 45-555, Arizona
Revised Statutes; RELATING to groundwater.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 45-555, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
45-555.

Transportation of groundwater withdrawn in Big Chino subbasin of
the Verde River groundwater basin to initial active management area; exception;
adequate mitigation; Prescott AMA; rules; definition

A. A city or town that owns land consisting of
historically irrigated acres in the Big Chino
sub-basin

subbasin
of the Verde River groundwater basin, as designated by
order of the director dated June 21, 1984, or a city or town with the consent
of the landowner, may withdraw from the land for transportation to an adjacent
initial active management area an amount of groundwater determined pursuant to
this section. The amount of groundwater that may be withdrawn from
the land pursuant to this section shall not exceed:

1. In any year two times the annual transportation
allotment for the land determined pursuant to subsection B
of
this section
.

2. For any period of ten consecutive years computed
in continuing progressive series beginning in the year transportation of
groundwater from the land begins, ten times the annual transportation allotment
for the land.

B. The director shall determine the annual
transportation allotment as follows:

1. Determine each farm or portion of a farm owned or
leased by the city or town in the
sub-basin

subbasin
.

2. For each such farm or portion of a farm,
determine the historically irrigated acres retired from
irrigation. Multiply the sum of those historically irrigated acres
by three acre-feet per acre.

C. In making the determination required by
subsection B
of this section
, the director shall rely
only on credible documentary evidence submitted by the city or town or
otherwise obtained by the department.

D. For the purposes of subsections A, B and C
of this section
:

1. "Documentary evidence" means
correspondence, contracts, other agreements, aerial photography, affidavits,
receipts or official records.

2. "Farm" means an area of land in the
sub-basin

subbasin
that is or was served
by a common irrigation water distribution system.

3. "Historically irrigated acres" means
acres of land overlying an aquifer that were irrigated with groundwater at any
time between January 1, 1975 and January 1, 1990.

E. A city or town in the Prescott active management
area may withdraw and transport eight thousand sixty-eight acre-feet per year
of groundwater from the Big Chino
sub-basin

subbasin
of the Verde River groundwater basin to the Prescott
active management area if the city or town does both of the following:

1. Relinquishes a supply of water from the central
Arizona project allocated to the city or town.

2. Enters into a federally-approved settlement of
the water rights claims of an Indian tribe in the Prescott active management
area.

F. Notwithstanding the volume limitation in
subsection E
of this section
, in any year in which a city
or town that qualifies under subsection E
of this section

delivers more than two hundred thirty-one acre-feet of water to an Indian tribe
for use on its reservation in the Prescott active management area pursuant to a
federally-approved Indian water rights settlement, the city or town may
withdraw and transport additional groundwater from the Big Chino
sub-basin

subbasin
to the Prescott active management area in an
amount equal to the amount by which those deliveries exceed two hundred
thirty-one acre-feet.

G. Groundwater that is withdrawn and transported
pursuant to subsections E and F
of this section
may be
delivered to and used by any city, town or Indian tribe in the Prescott active
management area without regard to whether that entity withdraws and transports
the water.

H. Before a city or town withdraws
water from the big chino subbasin for transportation to the Prescott active
management area, the city or town shall obtain a certificate of adequate
mitigation.

I. The department shall adopt rules
to obtain a certificate of adequate mitigation.� The rules must:

1. Be consistent with the best
available science, including the department's most recent groundwater model.

2. Ensure that base flow, water
quality and natural flood flow cycles are maintained for the duration of the
certificate of adequate mitigation.

3. Ensure that a city or town that
receives a certificate of adequate mitigation complies with all applicable law.

4. Require a city or town with a
certificate of adequate mitigation to renew the certificate every ten years
until the impacts of groundwater pumping cease and submit an annual report to
the department.� The annual report must include the following:

(
a
) Data on the
city's or town's groundwater withdrawal and recharge impacts on base flow,
water quality and natural flood flow cycles as measured at the Paulden stream
gage operated by the United States geological survey.

(
b
) Data on the
city's or town's mitigation water, including the water quality and quantity.

(
c
) The data
collection methodology, including the location and timing of testing.

5. Require a city or town that
withdraws groundwater from the big chino subbasin to mitigate any degradation
of base flow, water quality or natural flood flow cycles by any combination of
the following:

(
a
) Recharging
treated effluent in the big chino subbasin.

(
b
) Permanently
retiring acres in the subbasin subject to consistent irrigation in the five
years preceding the application.

(
c
) Other forms
of recharge that maintain base flow, water quality and natural flood flow
cycles as determined by the director.

J. A city or town that applies for a
certificate of adequate mitigation shall provide the following to the
department:

1. The anticipated location and
quantity of groundwater pumping in the big chino subbasin.

2. The anticipated timing, location,
quality and quantity of any mitigation water.

3. The anticipated impacts to water
quality and base flow.

4. A demonstration that the projected
groundwater withdrawal will not cause a reduction in base flow or the
degradation of water quality.

5. Evidence that the mitigation water
is physically, continuously and legally available and that the city or town has
the financial capability to ensure that the mitigation water is available.

K. For the purposes of this section,
"base flow" means the average of the seven consecutive lowest daily
average flows between October 1 and September 30 at the Paulden stream gage
operated by the United States geological survey.
END_STATUTE