PHOENIX — Senate Republicans and the Arizona Farm Bureau withdrew their membership from Arizona Gov. Katie Hobb’s Water Policy Council calling it “beholden to out-of-state special interests,” according to a press release from the caucus.
Sen. Sine Kerr, who is also the chair of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources, Energy & Water, said the council is “nothing more than a forum to rubber stamp the progressive environmental goals of special interest groups.”
Kerr also accused the council of having a “radical agenda” that has the potential to damage the economy and “kill the livelihoods” of ranchers and farmers. The Arizona Farm Bureau released a statement with similar sentiments, saying the priorities of the AZFB have been given “very little” consideration at best, or at worst, “totally dismissed.”
“While we respect the efforts made by Governor Katie Hobbs’ administration to address pressing issues related to rural groundwater, we believe the current process in place has been deaf to the concerns and priorities of Arizona’s farm and ranch families and we must withdraw from it entirely,” the news release said.
The Water Policy Council was created by Hobbs earlier this year to come up with ways to update how the state manages water amid shortages. Across the state, groundwater is mostly unregulated, and not tracked, meaning anyone can use as little or as much water as they would like without consequence.
But in rural counties of Arizona, the move to withdraw from the council was met with disappointment.
In a joint statement from chairmen and supervisors from Mohave, La Paz, Coconino and Yavapai counties, officials said they are disappointed in the withdrawal and the misinformation being spread, which they allege is being done by Representative Gail Griffin.
“This is a moment where Arizona needs leadership on water. Some choose to walk away. We choose to stay the course,” the statement reads. “We choose to have hard conversations and to hash out real solutions.”
The joint statement also outlines multiple attempts to pass non-partisan legislation that would enable Arizona to manage the finite groundwater supplies in the state.
“Make no mistake - these proposals are by and for rural Arizona communities, and we will continue to champion water security solutions for our residents,” the statement goes on to say. “There is nothing more important than ensuring all Arizonans, no matter where they live, enjoy water security, for generations to come.”
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