Arizona Laws 45-465.01. Flood damaged acres; substitution of acres; definition
A. A person who owns acres of land within an initial active management area which were legally irrigated at any time during the five years preceding January 1, 1980 and which have not been retired from irrigation for a non-irrigation use pursuant to section 45-463 or 45-469 may permanently retire such acres from irrigation and substitute for such acres the same number of acres within the same sub-basin or a contiguous sub-basin of the same initial active management area which were not legally irrigated at any time during the five years preceding January 1, 1980, and has the right to use groundwater for the irrigation of such substitute acres as determined pursuant to section 45-465 calculated on the basis of the acres which were legally irrigated, if the owner demonstrates to the satisfaction of the director that all the following apply:
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 45-465.01
- Active management area: means a geographical area that has been designated pursuant to article 2 of this chapter as requiring active management of groundwater or, in the case of the Santa Cruz active management area, active management of any water, other than stored water, withdrawn from a well. See Arizona Laws 45-402
- Director: means the director of water resources, who is also the director of the department. See Arizona Laws 45-101
- Grandfathered right: means a right to withdraw and use groundwater pursuant to article 5 of this chapter based on the fact of lawful withdrawals and use of groundwater before the date of the designation of an active management area. See Arizona Laws 45-402
- Groundwater: means water under the surface of the earth regardless of the geologic structure in which it is standing or moving. See Arizona Laws 45-101
- Initial active management area: means the Phoenix, Prescott or Pinal active management area established by section 45-411, the Tucson active management area established by section 45-411 and modified by Section 45-411. See Arizona Laws 45-402
- Irrigation use: means :
(a) With respect to areas outside an active management area and with respect to an active management area other than the Santa Cruz active management area, the use of groundwater on two or more acres of land to produce plants or parts of plants for sale or human consumption, or for use as feed for livestock, range livestock or poultry, as such terms are defined in section 3-1201. See Arizona Laws 45-402
- Non-irrigation use: means :
(a) With respect to areas outside an active management area and with respect to an active management area other than the Santa Cruz active management area, a use of groundwater other than an irrigation use. See Arizona Laws 45-402
- Owner: means :
(a) With respect to an irrigation grandfathered right or a type 1 non-irrigation grandfathered right, the owner of the land to which the right is appurtenant. See Arizona Laws 45-461
- Person: means an individual, public or private corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, society, estate or trust, any other private organization or enterprise, the United States, any state, territory or country or a governmental entity, political subdivision or municipal corporation organized under or subject to the constitution and laws of this state. See Arizona Laws 45-402
1. The acres which were irrigated during the five years preceding January 1, 1980 were damaged by floodwaters after being irrigated.
2. It is not economically feasible to restore the flood damaged acres to irrigation use.
3. The owner has received a certificate of grandfathered right for an irrigation use for the flood damaged acres.
B. Any acres permanently retired from irrigation pursuant to this section relinquish their irrigation grandfathered rights and such rights are deemed to be appurtenant to the substitute acres.
C. For purposes of this section, "floodwaters" means a temporary and erosive overflow of waters on lands not normally covered by water which occurred after January 1, 1975.