by Supervisor Stephen Miller (Chairman of the Board of Supervisors)
I suppose I’m a bit old school — when I tell people I’m going to do something, I do it. When people tell me they’re going to do something, I expect them to do it. When legislators tell me to develop a bill to address water-related issues, and we do, I expect that bill to be given the attention it deserves. If I’m not able to deliver on a promise I made, out of respect for the individual, I notify them and make it right.
I am not speaking for any group that I am affiliated with. I am speaking as your public servant. I have several organizations that I have worked with to resolve these water issues. The meetings I participate in are open to the public and the boards are extremely diversified.
For more than eight years, Pinal County has struggled to resolve the crisis that was placed on the Pinal Active Management Area. The crisis originated when the Arizona Department of Water Resources stopped issuing Certificates of Assured Water, or CAWs, for new subdivisions. By doing this, they essentially limit developers from building more homes in Pinal County, which would make our county more affordable and the economy stronger. The ADWR used modeling that determined that there was not enough water to continue with the status quo so it halted, completely, issuing new CAWs. Their actions have limited new homes from being built and have resulted in build-to-rent communities cropping up around the county since they do not require CAWs in order to get permitted. Young families looking to make Pinal County their home are now forced to choose one of these units, which can be $2,000 a month and provide no equity as opposed to the numerous positive impacts that come from people purchasing single-family residences.
I am involved with several organizations that have worked to resolve these issues for years. Meetings are regular, open to the public, and the boards are extremely diverse. We come from various backgrounds and all share a love for Pinal County. We spend incredible amounts of time talking with water users, meeting and working with water providers, and crafting solutions for the county and the state — all of this grounded in well-thought-out policies and procedures. We helped fund a hydrologist to develop a more detailed and real-time understanding of the model that ADWR has the ability to use so that we could better understand the actions taken by ADWR. The results of these efforts were good news; we are not out of water. Although we will not go back to business as usual, we have developed a multipronged approach.
Over the past few years, the groups I’m involved with have made small steps in proposing legislation that would enable long-term water reliability. Pinal County stakeholders have been going at this without assistance or support of the Legislature, the private sector or state agencies. We need elected officials at the state level to stand strong and demand that Pinal County be given the respect it deserves for the solutions we need. At this point, it appears that Pinal County legislators are not working in the best interest of Pinal County. Take for example SB1616. This bill was given to Sen. T.J. Shope, who has been a member of the Legislature for more than a decade, because he agreed to sponsor the bill. It was then removed from the senator’s committee and placed in a separate committee where it wasn’t heard and consequently died. The question is — why. This bill would have been a step in the right direction.
It was designed to amend the text in Section 45 of the Arizona Revised Statues so Pinal County would have the ability to fund projects for infrastructure and possible water supplies, both of which are components needed for our multipronged approach. This proposed bill was sent to the Government Committee instead of being heard in the Natural Resources Committee, where it clearly belonged.
Help me understand why this bill died. Explain to me, legislators, why you did not fight to get this passed out of committee to the floor for a vote and give Pinal County a win. Please explain to me, and the residents of Pinal County, how these actions, on this bill, were in the best interest of Pinal County.
These scenarios are not unique to just this year. Pinal County has been left at the altar at least five of the past eight years. Why do these roadblocks come up every year? Is it the Legislature, is it the private sector or is it the state agencies? Or is it that the big money is in Maricopa County?
Pinal County’s water woes will only be resolved when Pinal County’s legislators stand up for Pinal County. Now is not the time for the lobbyists and the politically ambitious to win; it’s time for the residents of Pinal County to win.
This bill needs no amendments. We have until Wednesday to find a striker, get it on the agenda and have it heard in committee for it to stay alive — who’s willing to stand up for Pinal County and make that happen?
These are important bills: SB1616 — PCWAA revenue bonding technical changes (T.J. Shope) — dead; HB2753 and SB1393 — Add Pinal County for CAGRD change — amended, status unknown — likelihood of passage and signing by the governor — unknown; SB1611 and HB2298 — Ag to urban amended, status unknown.
I hold a position in these water groups: Pinal County Water Augmentation Authority, Pinal County Groundwater Users Advisory Council, Pinal Partners Water Committee, Pinal County Stakeholders ad hoc group, Central Arizona Project Water Conservation District. I speak for me, Stephen Q. Miller, Pinal County Board of Supervisors, District 3.
On Tuesday, Supervisor Miller met with U.S. Congressman Juan Ciscomani (pictured) to discuss critical infrastructure in the region and emphasize the importance of working with Upper and Lower Colorado River Basin partners to promote a more secure water future for Arizona and the Western United States.
