The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
Re: the June 25 article “Hobbs’ water-bill veto is missed opportunity for state’s future.”
Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis
As the Governor of the Gila River Indian Community, I am writing to take issue with the opinion column by Scottsdale Rep. Alexander Kolodin, which attacked Governor Katie Hobbs for her veto of SB 1172, the so-called “Ag to Urban” bill. Like much of the debate over this bill, Rep. Kolodin relies on broad generalizations while overlooking the need for real data and analysis to support critical water-policy decisions. Gov. Hobbs was right to veto SB 1172 because, while the policy might have proved beneficial, we must take the time to get it right and base our policy on science not self-interest.
Rep. Kolodin is correct that agriculture is more water-intensive than residential or municipal uses, but that simple statement does not get to the heart of the issues the Gila River Indian Community began to raise early during the consideration of SB 1172, both with Senator Shope, the primary sponsor in the Senate, and with Governor Hobbs’ office. Our concerns focused on both the policies proscribed by the bill and the process being followed to consider it.
On the policy side, the Community was concerned that there was no data or analysis to back up the major policy choices the bill included, such as how much water could be transferred to obtain the benefits sought and where the water could be used. We raised these concerns in February, only to be ignored by the proponents of the bill. It was not until very late in the process that the Arizona Department of Water Resources provided an analysis of the bill. This analysis showed that SB 1172 would harm the aquifers in the Pinal AMA, not help them, and that potential benefits to the Phoenix AMA had been overstated. Rep. Kolodin brushes off this analysis as “ostensible concerns,” but the data clearly demonstrated that the bill needed more work to ensure it worked for everyone.
Rep. Kolodin makes it appear that this bill was the result of a considered, open, and transparent process. Nothing could be further from the truth. This bill was the product of closed-door meetings of one set of stakeholders who purposefully sought to keep out anyone who raised legitimate questions about the bill – including the Community. I know this because I specifically asked to participate in these meetings beginning in February and was told I was not welcome.
Gov. Hobbs set up a Water Policy Council to consider such groundwater policy changes, with representatives from all affected parties to ensure an open, transparent process. I am honored to sit on the Council and I’m pleased that, after she vetoed this bill, Gov. Hobbs indicated she wants to have the Council consider the policy behind SB 1172 to see if we can come up with a better bill. I look forward to doing just that.
Finally, I want to call out Rep. Kolodin’s gratuitous slur of the Community’s intentions in raising objections about this bill. Our aquifers are in both the Pinal and Phoenix AMAs. This water supply is directly affected by the major changes proposed in SB 1172. ADWR’s analysis shows we were right to be concerned by the bill’s potential impact on the Pinal AMA and its overly generous allowances for transfers in the Phoenix AMA.
As to his innuendo about the GRIC benefiting financially by opposing SB 1172, the Community’s record speaks for itself. Since 2016, the Community has undertaken a consistent policy of shifting its water supplies to conservation in Lake Mead for the benefit of every Arizonan. We have conserved over one million acre-feet of water to date — with more committed — at a value much lower than if we used our water in a different way. To put GRIC’s contribution in perspective, this conservation has raised the elevation at Lake Mead by over 15 feet, enough to ensure the state avoids a Tier 2 drought condition today.
It is our sacrifice that keeps the State out of Tier 2 drought. Rep. Kolodin would do well to remember that before he makes such insulting comments about the Community again.
