HB2551

THE CONTEXT: Persons seeking to use groundwater are required to apply for a certificate of grandfathered right no later than 15 months after the date of the designation of the AMA with the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR). Grandfathered rights are withdrawal rights based on historic pumping, five-year period preceding the call for the election or the five-year period preceding the designation of the AMA ( A.

WHAT THE BILL DID: The final vetoed version would declares a person claiming the right to withdraw or receive and use groundwater in the Willcox AMA, in accordance with a grandfathered right will file an application with the ADWR no later than 21 months after the date of the designation of the AMA and contains a retroactivity clause of January 8,.

WHY IT MATTERED: The practical reason for this bill was to make the government process for grandfathered right more definite and accountable. It would declares a person claiming the right to withdraw or receive and use groundwater in the Willcox AMA, in accordance with a grandfathered right will file an application with the ADWR no later than 21 months after the date of the designation of the AMA, and would also contains a retroactivity clause of January 8,, rather than leave the current rule unchanged.