Attorney general sues Saudi-owned farm for excessive groundwater pumping in western Arizona

PHOENIX (AZFamily/AP) — Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has filed a lawsuit against a controversial Saudi Arabia-owned farm for allegedly violating a public nuisance law.

On Wednesday, Mayes announced that her office would be suing Fondomonte Arizona, LLC., claiming that the company’s excessive groundwater pumping in La Paz County has had widespread effects in the Ranegras Plain Basin of La Paz County, harming everyone who depends on basin water by drawing down supplies, drying up wells and causing the ground to crack and sink in some areas.

The complaint was filed in Maricopa County Superior Court.

Data from the Arizona Department of Water Resources shows that as much as 9.8 inches of subsidence, or land sinking, has occurred in the Ranegras Plain of La Paz County since 2010.

“Fondomonte’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 in a statement. “Arizona law is clear: no company has the right to endanger an entire community’s health and safety for its own gain.”

The lawsuit also says that since 2014, Fondomonte has extracted “extraordinary amounts of groundwater” to grow alfalfa, which has accelerated the depletion of the basin’s aquifer. Officials say nearly 32,000 acre-feet of groundwater were extracted in 2023 alone.

In comparison, one acre-foot can supply water to three single-family homes for a year.

The company is a subsidiary of Saudi dairy giant Almarai Co.

Fondomonte recently received a drilling permit from the Arizona Department of Water Resources for a new well that would be 1,000-1,500 feet deep and pump 3,000 gallons per minute from the company’s alfalfa farm in La Paz County.

In September, Mayes wrote the ADWR director to ask that the permit be revoked, saying she is “concerned about the future value of our state land in La Paz County if this basin is sucked dry.”

Fondomonte sent a statement to Arizona’s Family following the announcement, calling the allegations “totally unfounded.”

Mayes’ office seeks a court order to stop the company’s groundwater pumping.

Years of drought have increased pressure on water users across the West, particularly in states like Arizona, which relies heavily on the dwindling Colorado River. The drought has also made groundwater — long used by farmers and rural residents without restriction — even more important for users across the state.

Mayes told reporters Wednesday that the Arizona Legislature has done nothing to fix the groundwater problem despite knowing about the problem for years.

“While laws regulating groundwater pumping could have prevented this situation, the Legislature’s inaction has allowed the crisis to grow,” Mayes said. “When the Legislature fails to protect our most basic resources, the attorney general must step in.”

La Paz County Supervisor Holly Irwin, a Republican, commended Mayes, a Democrat, for attempting to address what she described as her community’s “most challenging” concern.

“I know that my constituents will be thrilled over this, that somebody is actually paying attention to the real problems here,” Irwin said during Wednesday’s news briefing via a video conference call.

Mayes’ lawsuit alleges that Fondomonte’s actions are a public nuisance under a state statute that prohibits activity that injures health, obstructs property use, or interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property by a community.

Mayes called the company’s groundwater pumping “unsustainable” and said it caused “devastating consequences” for people in the area.

“Arizona law is clear: no company has the right to endanger an entire community’s health and safety for its own gain,” she said.

The lawsuit seeks to enjoin the company from further groundwater pumping it says is “excessive” and require that an abatement fund be established.

Arizona officials have been targeting Fondomonte for more than a year over its use of groundwater to grow forage crops, by not renewing or canceling the company’s leases in Butler Valley in western Arizona. Some residents there had complained that the company’s pumping was threatening their wells.

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