HB 2714 Summary: Rural Groundwater Management Areas

• Establishes five initial rural groundwater management areas (Gila Bend, Hualapai Valley, Ranegras Plain, San Simon Valley, and Willcox) outside active management areas to manage groundwater in regions outside urban centers.

• Creates rural groundwater management area councils with five members to develop management plans with goals including reducing overdraft by at least 50%, stabilizing aquifer conditions, or achieving safe-yield balance between withdrawals and recharge.

• Requires persons withdrawing groundwater in rural areas to obtain certificates or permits for groundwater use based on historical use patterns (irrigation, municipal, or industrial) or substantial capital investments in groundwater projects.

• Implements conservation requirements and compliance account systems allowing groundwater users to bank unused allocations, transfer rights with volume reductions (15% for certificated volumes, 20% for compliance credits), and establishes groundwater withdrawal fees to fund conservation programs.

• Applies water adequacy requirements to subdivision development in rural groundwater management areas, comparable to existing requirements in active management areas, and provides authority for expedited rulemaking to implement the act.