PHOENIX — Foreign governments using Arizona water to grow crops could be facing new taxes thanks to a bill recently introduced by Democratic U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego.
The Domestic Water Protection Act of 2023 is a bill that Gallego said is aimed at stopping the "abuse of water resources by foreign governments and other drought-stricken states."
“Arizona’s water and crops belong in Arizona–not Saudi Arabia,” Gallego said in a press release. “No longer should foreign governments and companies be given sweetheart deals that leave Arizonans worse off. I’m proud to lead the Domestic Water Protection Act to stop these entities from stealing our state’s water.”
If passed, the legislation would impose a 300% excise tax on the sale and export of water-intensive crops, such as alfalfa, by foreign companies or governments in drought-stricken areas. Proceeds from the tax would be used for a Drought Trust Fund to finance response and resilience efforts.
In an interview with 12News, Gallego discussed the prevalence of Saudi Arabian alfalfa farms in Arizona, and the ease with which large foreign companies can drill water wells in the state.
"Property owners that dig wells and rely on well water are now having to compete against a multi-billion dollar company who has no problem digging deeper and deeper wells from the same water table."
While the Domestic Water Protection Act of 2023 is focused on agriculture, Gallego said he wanted to improve "lax" Arizonan water laws with a more locally-guided approach.
"We're certainly very supportive of the governor's efforts to modern modernize our water laws. We're looking at other measures and initiatives that we've heard about that would actually bring a ground up approach where local communities will make decisions about how they're going to conserve their water. We don't want, nor do I think anybody wants, people from Phoenix making water decisions for La Paz County, for Mojave County, or for Cochise County."
While a wet winter and conservation efforts have improved water security for Arizona, much of the state is still under a prolonged drought, according to the United States Drought Monitor.
"We're gonna continue pushing this issue. And we're working directly with a lot of the elected officials that are that are dealing with it directly. And I think that we need to keep our eyes on the ball here, because it is not an issue that's going away anytime soon," Gallego said.
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