A Saudi-owned company that farms alfalfa in the U.S. State of Arizona has been blocked from drilling two new wells in the drought-stricken state, according to local reports.
Fondomonte, which is a subsidiary of the Saudi food and agricultural conglomerate Almarai, had permitting applications into the state for drilling the wells revoked by the state’s attorney general, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes.
The issue morphed into a political debate as the Western U.S. states grapple with water shortages and tough decisions on water usage in the coming years.
Mayes “claimed credit” for the permitting denial “after she raised objections in early April to state agencies about discrepancies in application paperwork. Those included listing different landowners and conflicting information about whether the wells were new or replacements,” azcentral.com reports. About a week prior to Mayes’ announcement, the Arizona Department of Water Resources notified Fondomonte the permits were revoked at the request of the Arizona State Land Department, the outlet said.
“It’s outrageous and frankly unacceptable that the state would even consider granting new wells to allow the Saudis to pump millions of gallons of water to grow more alfalfa for their cows,” Mayes said, noting the vast amount of water that could come from those new wells.
“In one day the amount of water pumping out of just one of those wells could serve roughly 30,000 Arizona residents, which is pretty astonishing given that the entire population of La Paz County has just over 16,000 people,” she said. “This is water that belongs to the people of Arizona and needs to stay in the ground in La Paz County.”
