A sign in front of Fondomonte's 10,000 acre farm in La Paz County shows that, as of July 2024, the company is hiring.
A Saudi-backed alfalfa farming company that has pumped large amounts of water from aquifers in rural Arizona is asking that a suit by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes' office be dropped and that the state cover expenses the company incurred.
In its answer to the complaint, Fondomonte said it is within its legal rights to pump as it has, and that nuisance laws do not apply to its operations.
Among the laws it cites in these claims is Arizona Revised Statute 3-112, which states that agricultural operations that follow all federal, state and local laws and utilize good agricultural practices "are presumed to be reasonable and do not constitute a nuisance unless the agricultural operation has a substantial adverse effect on the public health and safety."
It also cites ARS 45-453, which states that a person in an area outside of an active management area may "withdraw and use groundwater for reasonable and beneficial use."
Mayes' lawsuit claims that Fondomonte is creating a nuisance in the part of La Paz County in which it operates by excessively pumping groundwater to the point that its neighbors become unable to access water through their previously-operating wells.
Her office would not directly comment on the new filing by Fondomonte since the case is ongoing, but she previously told AZPM that this was the first time nuisance law had been used in this way, but she may try to use it again in similar situations.
Read the answer to the complaint here:
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