Democratic Senate Leader Priya Sundareshan Reacts to MAGA Republicans Thumbing Their Climate Change Denying Noses at Bipartisan Water Security Measures

Late last month, Democratic Senate Leader Priya Sundareshan joined Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, Democratic House Leader Oscar De Los Santos, and a bipartisan group of local leaders at the unveiling of The Rural Groundwater Act, a measure the Grand Canyon State Chief Executive called an “Urgent and decisive vision for protecting Arizona’s water supply.”

The components of the bill included:

• Local Choice, Local Solutions.
• Flexible, Effective Water Conservation.
• Water Protection & Certainty.
• Adaptable, Customizable Water Management.
• Funding for Water Conservation, Reuse, and Recharge.
• Groundwater Protection for Basins in Trouble.

At the event, Senator Sundareshan commented in her remarks that:

“Groundwater management is one of the most important issues facing the state and for Rural Arizonans, I do not believe that the urgency of this legislation can be overstated.”

Fast forward a month and what have Republicans at the State Senate done to consider the Governor’s Bipartisan Proposal unveiled in January.

Not much.

The bill has not even been given consideration in any committee hearing with jurisdiction in this area.

What they have done, according to the Senate Democratic Leader is offer corporate profit-driven and climate change science-denying measures (SB1116 and SB1134) that will not provide Arizonans and the Grand Canyon state any semblance of long-term water security.

In an Arizona Senate Democratic Caucus Release, Senator Sundareshan wrote:

“Arizonans continue to call on the legislature to take meaningful steps to address our state’s dwindling water resources – but Republicans seem unrelenting in their desire to ignore those calls.

The shameful waste of time we have seen from the majority party puts Arizonans in an increasingly dangerous position. Today, rather than move forward with policy ideas that protect rural groundwater with bipartisan support, or strengthen water supplies for growth in our urban areas, Senate Republicans pushed forward SB1116 and SB1134, prioritizing private developer profits over the best interest of the state.

SB1116 is an emergency measure that requires the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) Director to provide a written response to an alternative groundwater model submittal within 60 days of receipt. SB1134 establishes statutory licensing timeframes for ADWR determinations for a new or modified certificate, designation or analysis of an Assured Water Supply.

The women and men who work at ADWR are hardworking analysts and scientists who are pulled in a lot of directions. The accelerated reviews required in both proposals will impose a new demand on their time when they could be doing better things. More importantly, this legislation calls into question the work of ADWR staff, which is not only unproductive but, in my experience, inaccurate.

In both cases here, Republicans chose to prioritize the wishes of developers over the very critical review process designed to protect our water resources. They lodge attacks on the expertise of our agency scientists and staff when they are already severely under-resourced. And these bills come at the same time that developers are suing the Department of Water Resources because they would rather ignore the looming water shortages on our horizon so they can keep profiting while leaving homeowners holding the bag when the water runs out.

I will continue to vote NO on each water policy proposal that does not meet the gravity of this moment in our state because our collective water future demands it.”