Protesters rally against the proposed Resolution Copper Mine east of Phoenix in the Tonto National Forest. Photo by Jamie Cochran | Cronkite News
In her first State of the State address just over a year ago, Gov. Katie Hobbs was unequivocal about her commitment to tackling one of the state’s greatest challenges: our dwindling water supply.
“Our groundwater should be used to support Arizonans, not foreign business interests,” she said in that speech , referring to the Saudi Arabian conglomerate Fondomonte. Over the past few years, Fondomonte has been pumping unlimited amounts of groundwater in La Paz County for alfalfa crops that it ships to feed cows on the other side of the earth.
Though the Hobbs administration has already canceled one of Fondomonte’s four leases and says it won’t renew the others when they’re up this month, the problem doesn’t end with Saudi agriculture.
It’s also mining companies that take advantage of loopholes in the state’s water laws to maximize profit at the expense of Arizonans — including mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP.