| 1 | 1 | | REFERENCE TITLE: long-term storage accounts; credits; percentage State of Arizona Senate Fifty-seventh Legislature First Regular Session 2025 SB 1251 Introduced by Senator Sundareshan An Act amending section 45-852.01, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to underground water storage. (TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE) |
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| 9 | 9 | | REFERENCE TITLE: long-term storage accounts; credits; percentage |
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| 10 | 10 | | State of Arizona Senate Fifty-seventh Legislature First Regular Session 2025 |
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| 11 | 11 | | SB 1251 |
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| 12 | 12 | | Introduced by Senator Sundareshan |
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| 14 | 14 | | REFERENCE TITLE: long-term storage accounts; credits; percentage |
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| 24 | 24 | | State of Arizona |
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| 26 | 26 | | Senate |
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| 28 | 28 | | Fifty-seventh Legislature |
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| 30 | 30 | | First Regular Session |
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| 32 | 32 | | 2025 |
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| 40 | 40 | | SB 1251 |
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| 44 | 44 | | Introduced by |
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| 46 | 46 | | Senator Sundareshan |
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| 64 | 64 | | An Act |
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| 68 | 68 | | amending section 45-852.01, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to underground water storage. |
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| 74 | 74 | | (TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE) |
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| 78 | 78 | | Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona: Section 1.1. Section 45-852.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read: START_STATUTE45-852.01. Long-term storage accounts A. The director shall establish one long-term storage account for each person holding long-term storage credits. The director shall establish subaccounts within the long-term storage account according to each active management area, irrigation non-expansion area, groundwater basin or groundwater subbasin in which the person's stored water is located. The long-term storage account shall be further subdivided by type of water, if the person holds long-term storage credits for more than one type of water. B. Water stored pursuant to a water storage permit at a storage facility may be credited to a long-term storage account if the director determines that all of the following apply: 1. Either: (a) The water that was stored was water that cannot reasonably be used directly. (b) The water was stored in a groundwater savings facility located in an active management area that does not have a management goal of achieving or maintaining a safe yield condition, the water was stored between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2026 and the director determines that the storage assists in implementing within this state a drought contingency plan for the lower basin of the Colorado River. The total maximum amount that may qualify under this subdivision is fifteen thousand acre-feet per year. 2. If the stored water was stored at a storage facility within an active management area, either: (a) The water would not have been naturally recharged within the active management area. (b) If the water was stored at a managed underground storage facility that has been designated as a facility that could add value to a national park, national monument or state park and the water stored is effluent, the water stored is water that could have been used or disposed of by the storer by means other than discharging the effluent into the stream. 3. The stored water was not recovered on an annual basis pursuant to section 45-851.01. C. The director shall credit ninety-five seventy percent of the recoverable amount of stored water that meets the requirements of subsection B of this section to the storer's long-term storage account, except that: 1. If the water was stored at a managed underground storage facility that does not qualify as an existing effluent managed underground storage facility and that had not been designated at the time of storage as a facility that could add value to a national park, national monument or state park and the water stored is effluent, the director shall credit to the storer's long-term storage account fifty percent of the recoverable amount of water that meets the requirements of subsection B of this section. For storage of effluent in a managed underground storage facility that is located in a recreational corridor channelization district established pursuant to title 48, chapter 35, the director may increase the storage credits earned from fifty percent to ninety-five percent if both of the following apply: (a) The effluent was not discharged into the stream where the facility is located before the permit application for that facility was filed. (b) The director determines that the storage of effluent in the facility will provide a greater benefit to aquifer conditions in the active management area or, if outside an active management area, to the groundwater basin than would accrue to the active management area or groundwater basin if the effluent is used or disposed of in another manner. 2. If the water was stored at a groundwater savings facility and the storer has not met the burden of proving that one hundred percent of the in lieu water was used on a gallon-for-gallon substitute basis for groundwater, the director shall credit to the storer's long-term storage account only the percentage of the in lieu water that meets the requirements of subsection B of this section and that was proven to the director's satisfaction as being used on a gallon-for-gallon substitute basis for groundwater. 3. The director shall credit to the storer's long-term storage account ninety percent of the recoverable amount of the water that meets the requirements of subsection B of this section if all of the following apply: (a) The stored water was central Arizona project water that qualifies as water that cannot reasonably be used directly due solely to the exclusion of groundwater withdrawn by the storer for mineral extraction or metallurgical processing under section 45-802.01, paragraph 23, subdivision (c). (b) The storer was engaged in mineral extraction and metallurgical processing within an initial active management area on or before January 1, 2011. (c) All exterior boundaries of the storage facility that is used to store the stored water are more than twenty miles from a well owned by the storer on January 1, 2012 and that well is not an exempt well and any one or more of the following apply: (i) The well is an existing well as defined in section 45-591, paragraph 1. (ii) The department has issued a permit for the well under section 45-599, subsection C. (iii) The well was drilled pursuant to a mineral extraction and metallurgical processing permit issued by the department under section 45-514. 4. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph 2 of this subsection, the director shall credit to the storer's long-term storage account or conservation district account one hundred percent of the recoverable amount of water that meets the requirements of subsection B of this section if any of the following applies: (a) The water stored was effluent that was stored at a constructed underground storage facility, a groundwater savings facility or a managed underground storage facility that was designated at the time of storage as a facility that could add value to a national park, national monument or state park. (b) The water was stored in an active management area and the stored water is water from outside the active management area that would not have reached the active management area without the efforts of the holder of the long-term storage credits. (c) The water was stored outside an active management area and the stored water is water from outside the groundwater basin in which the water was stored that would not have reached the groundwater basin without the efforts of the holder of the long-term storage credits. (d) The water was stored for purposes of establishing and maintaining a replenishment reserve pursuant to section 48-3772, subsection E. (e) The water was stored for replenishment purposes pursuant to section 48-3771 and credited directly to a conservation district account pursuant to section 45-859.01, subsection E. D. The director shall credit a person's long-term storage account by the amount of long-term storage credits assigned to that person by another holder of long-term storage credits pursuant to section 45-854.01. E. The director shall debit the appropriate subaccount of a person's long-term storage account: 1. One hundred percent of the amount of stored water that the holder of the long-term storage credits has recovered during the calendar year pursuant to the permit. 2. The amount of long-term storage credits that the person has assigned to another person or transferred to a master replenishment account, conservation district account or water district account. 3. If the water was stored in an active management area, the amount of water during the calendar year that migrates to a location outside the active management area or to a location within the active management area where it cannot be beneficially used within a reasonable period of time by persons other than the storer with rights to withdraw and use groundwater. 4. If the water was stored outside of an active management area, the amount of water during the calendar year that migrates to a location outside the groundwater basin in which the storage facility is located or to a location in the groundwater basin where it cannot be beneficially used within a reasonable period of time by persons other than the storer with rights to withdraw and use groundwater. 5. The amount of long-term storage credits that the storer, pursuant to section 45-853.01, subsection B, has applied to offset groundwater withdrawn or used in excess of the storer's per capita municipal conservation requirements under the second management plan. 6. The amount of long-term storage credits that are held by the Arizona water banking authority and that the authority has chosen to extinguish. F. To the extent the total amount of water withdrawn by a person from wells designated as recovery wells pursuant to section 45-834.01 during a calendar year exceeds the amount of stored water recovered by the person on an annual basis pursuant to section 45-851.01 and the amount of long-term storage credits recovered by the person, the excess amount of water recovered shall be considered groundwater withdrawn pursuant to chapter 2 of this title. END_STATUTE |
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| 80 | 80 | | Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona: |
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| 82 | 82 | | Section 1.1. Section 45-852.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read: |
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| 83 | 83 | | |
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| 84 | 84 | | START_STATUTE45-852.01. Long-term storage accounts |
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| 85 | 85 | | |
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| 86 | 86 | | A. The director shall establish one long-term storage account for each person holding long-term storage credits. The director shall establish subaccounts within the long-term storage account according to each active management area, irrigation non-expansion area, groundwater basin or groundwater subbasin in which the person's stored water is located. The long-term storage account shall be further subdivided by type of water, if the person holds long-term storage credits for more than one type of water. |
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| 88 | 88 | | B. Water stored pursuant to a water storage permit at a storage facility may be credited to a long-term storage account if the director determines that all of the following apply: |
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| 90 | 90 | | 1. Either: |
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| 92 | 92 | | (a) The water that was stored was water that cannot reasonably be used directly. |
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| 94 | 94 | | (b) The water was stored in a groundwater savings facility located in an active management area that does not have a management goal of achieving or maintaining a safe yield condition, the water was stored between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2026 and the director determines that the storage assists in implementing within this state a drought contingency plan for the lower basin of the Colorado River. The total maximum amount that may qualify under this subdivision is fifteen thousand acre-feet per year. |
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| 95 | 95 | | |
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| 96 | 96 | | 2. If the stored water was stored at a storage facility within an active management area, either: |
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| 98 | 98 | | (a) The water would not have been naturally recharged within the active management area. |
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| 100 | 100 | | (b) If the water was stored at a managed underground storage facility that has been designated as a facility that could add value to a national park, national monument or state park and the water stored is effluent, the water stored is water that could have been used or disposed of by the storer by means other than discharging the effluent into the stream. |
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| 102 | 102 | | 3. The stored water was not recovered on an annual basis pursuant to section 45-851.01. |
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| 104 | 104 | | C. The director shall credit ninety-five seventy percent of the recoverable amount of stored water that meets the requirements of subsection B of this section to the storer's long-term storage account, except that: |
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| 106 | 106 | | 1. If the water was stored at a managed underground storage facility that does not qualify as an existing effluent managed underground storage facility and that had not been designated at the time of storage as a facility that could add value to a national park, national monument or state park and the water stored is effluent, the director shall credit to the storer's long-term storage account fifty percent of the recoverable amount of water that meets the requirements of subsection B of this section. For storage of effluent in a managed underground storage facility that is located in a recreational corridor channelization district established pursuant to title 48, chapter 35, the director may increase the storage credits earned from fifty percent to ninety-five percent if both of the following apply: |
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| 108 | 108 | | (a) The effluent was not discharged into the stream where the facility is located before the permit application for that facility was filed. |
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| 110 | 110 | | (b) The director determines that the storage of effluent in the facility will provide a greater benefit to aquifer conditions in the active management area or, if outside an active management area, to the groundwater basin than would accrue to the active management area or groundwater basin if the effluent is used or disposed of in another manner. |
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| 111 | 111 | | |
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| 112 | 112 | | 2. If the water was stored at a groundwater savings facility and the storer has not met the burden of proving that one hundred percent of the in lieu water was used on a gallon-for-gallon substitute basis for groundwater, the director shall credit to the storer's long-term storage account only the percentage of the in lieu water that meets the requirements of subsection B of this section and that was proven to the director's satisfaction as being used on a gallon-for-gallon substitute basis for groundwater. |
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| 113 | 113 | | |
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| 114 | 114 | | 3. The director shall credit to the storer's long-term storage account ninety percent of the recoverable amount of the water that meets the requirements of subsection B of this section if all of the following apply: |
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| 116 | 116 | | (a) The stored water was central Arizona project water that qualifies as water that cannot reasonably be used directly due solely to the exclusion of groundwater withdrawn by the storer for mineral extraction or metallurgical processing under section 45-802.01, paragraph 23, subdivision (c). |
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| 118 | 118 | | (b) The storer was engaged in mineral extraction and metallurgical processing within an initial active management area on or before January 1, 2011. |
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| 120 | 120 | | (c) All exterior boundaries of the storage facility that is used to store the stored water are more than twenty miles from a well owned by the storer on January 1, 2012 and that well is not an exempt well and any one or more of the following apply: |
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| 121 | 121 | | |
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| 122 | 122 | | (i) The well is an existing well as defined in section 45-591, paragraph 1. |
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| 123 | 123 | | |
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| 124 | 124 | | (ii) The department has issued a permit for the well under section 45-599, subsection C. |
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| 125 | 125 | | |
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| 126 | 126 | | (iii) The well was drilled pursuant to a mineral extraction and metallurgical processing permit issued by the department under section 45-514. |
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| 127 | 127 | | |
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| 128 | 128 | | 4. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph 2 of this subsection, the director shall credit to the storer's long-term storage account or conservation district account one hundred percent of the recoverable amount of water that meets the requirements of subsection B of this section if any of the following applies: |
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| 130 | 130 | | (a) The water stored was effluent that was stored at a constructed underground storage facility, a groundwater savings facility or a managed underground storage facility that was designated at the time of storage as a facility that could add value to a national park, national monument or state park. |
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| 131 | 131 | | |
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| 132 | 132 | | (b) The water was stored in an active management area and the stored water is water from outside the active management area that would not have reached the active management area without the efforts of the holder of the long-term storage credits. |
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| 133 | 133 | | |
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| 134 | 134 | | (c) The water was stored outside an active management area and the stored water is water from outside the groundwater basin in which the water was stored that would not have reached the groundwater basin without the efforts of the holder of the long-term storage credits. |
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| 135 | 135 | | |
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| 136 | 136 | | (d) The water was stored for purposes of establishing and maintaining a replenishment reserve pursuant to section 48-3772, subsection E. |
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| 138 | 138 | | (e) The water was stored for replenishment purposes pursuant to section 48-3771 and credited directly to a conservation district account pursuant to section 45-859.01, subsection E. |
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| 139 | 139 | | |
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| 140 | 140 | | D. The director shall credit a person's long-term storage account by the amount of long-term storage credits assigned to that person by another holder of long-term storage credits pursuant to section 45-854.01. |
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| 141 | 141 | | |
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| 142 | 142 | | E. The director shall debit the appropriate subaccount of a person's long-term storage account: |
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| 144 | 144 | | 1. One hundred percent of the amount of stored water that the holder of the long-term storage credits has recovered during the calendar year pursuant to the permit. |
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| 145 | 145 | | |
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| 146 | 146 | | 2. The amount of long-term storage credits that the person has assigned to another person or transferred to a master replenishment account, conservation district account or water district account. |
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| 147 | 147 | | |
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| 148 | 148 | | 3. If the water was stored in an active management area, the amount of water during the calendar year that migrates to a location outside the active management area or to a location within the active management area where it cannot be beneficially used within a reasonable period of time by persons other than the storer with rights to withdraw and use groundwater. |
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| 149 | 149 | | |
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| 150 | 150 | | 4. If the water was stored outside of an active management area, the amount of water during the calendar year that migrates to a location outside the groundwater basin in which the storage facility is located or to a location in the groundwater basin where it cannot be beneficially used within a reasonable period of time by persons other than the storer with rights to withdraw and use groundwater. |
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| 151 | 151 | | |
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| 152 | 152 | | 5. The amount of long-term storage credits that the storer, pursuant to section 45-853.01, subsection B, has applied to offset groundwater withdrawn or used in excess of the storer's per capita municipal conservation requirements under the second management plan. |
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| 153 | 153 | | |
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| 154 | 154 | | 6. The amount of long-term storage credits that are held by the Arizona water banking authority and that the authority has chosen to extinguish. |
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| 155 | 155 | | |
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| 156 | 156 | | F. To the extent the total amount of water withdrawn by a person from wells designated as recovery wells pursuant to section 45-834.01 during a calendar year exceeds the amount of stored water recovered by the person on an annual basis pursuant to section 45-851.01 and the amount of long-term storage credits recovered by the person, the excess amount of water recovered shall be considered groundwater withdrawn pursuant to chapter 2 of this title. END_STATUTE |
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