This was the last week to hear bills in committee at the Arizona Legislature, except for hearing bills in the Appropriations Committee. So there are no new Request to Speak actions. But we are recommending four other actions to take: sending messages to your Legislators against two harmful utility bills, a bad energy bill, and a water bill that codifies over pumping of groundwater. (See actions and links below.)
Now for a little good news. It appears that HB2552 to codify hounding of wildlife is really dead, a bill to exempt fracking for helium without an aquifer protection permit -- SB1444 -- is dead, and the original version of the bill to hinder siting of wind farms -- HB2223 -- is also dead (note there is a strike-everything amendment to revive it). SB1068, a bill to limit protecting additional federal public lands never made it out of the senate.
Now for a little good news. It appears that HB2552 to codify hounding of wildlife is really dead, a bill to exempt fracking for helium without an aquifer protection permit -- SB1444 -- is dead, and the original version of the bill to hinder siting of wind farms -- HB2223 -- is also dead (note there is a strike-everything amendment to revive it). SB1068, a bill to limit protecting additional federal public lands never made it out of the senate.
While HB2201, a bill that would relieve the electric utilities of responsibility for harm from wildfires caused by their infrastructure and make them less accountable, was amended, it still relieves utilities of negligence related to wildfires caused by their infrastructure. Please continue to keep up the pressure on this bill as it should not advance as is.
Take action on HB2201
Please take action to tell your senator to oppose HB2679, a bill that allows utilities to use a type of bonding for an extremely broad range of things and without accountability or consumer protection.
NOTE: Please, correct the two typos in the subject line. The action is only for HB2679 and it is incorrectly written as HB2201 and HB2649. In the first paragraph of the message, it also incorrectly calls it HB2649. Please, change it to HB2679.
Take action on HB2679
HB2774 NOW: small modular reactors; co-location (Carbone) has passed out of the Arizona House and is ready to go to the floor in the Senate. It preempts counties – except Maricopa and Pima – from regulating the location of these small modular nuclear reactors if they are co-located with a large industrial electricity user – basically data centers. We already have data centers located here pretty indiscriminately and using enormous amounts of water and electricity – providing very few jobs. Why give them even less accountability, especially in rural areas where our water resources are even more constrained?
HB2774 also says small modular reactors are not subject to requirements for a certificate of environmental compatibility (CEC), if they are being co-located with a big electricity user, aka data centers. Again, the impacts of data centers on the water and the grid are enormous and a CEC should be required. It also allows a small modular reactor to replace a gas plant or other thermal plant that received a CEC without getting a new CEC. This is also a bad idea as the impacts and concerns about nuclear are different from those about fossil generation.
Ask your Senator to please vote No on HB2774!
SB1520 Now: Rural Water (Dunn) establishes an extremely weak system for groundwater "management" in a limited number of areas in rural Arizona. The bill caps the percentage reduction in groundwater pumping at one percent annually and not more than 10 percent over 10 years, far below what is needed to stabilize these and other aquifers in our state. This bill also includes weak goals that do not promote stabilizing the aquifers to limit land subsidence, earth fissures, and the continued decline of water levels, which are drying up wells in some areas.
Tell Your Representatives to oppose SB1520 . Let legislators know that we care about water throughout Arizona.
Take action on HB2201
Please take action to tell your senator to oppose HB2679, a bill that allows utilities to use a type of bonding for an extremely broad range of things and without accountability or consumer protection.
NOTE: Please, correct the two typos in the subject line. The action is only for HB2679 and it is incorrectly written as HB2201 and HB2649. In the first paragraph of the message, it also incorrectly calls it HB2649. Please, change it to HB2679.
Take action on HB2679
HB2774 NOW: small modular reactors; co-location (Carbone) has passed out of the Arizona House and is ready to go to the floor in the Senate. It preempts counties – except Maricopa and Pima – from regulating the location of these small modular nuclear reactors if they are co-located with a large industrial electricity user – basically data centers. We already have data centers located here pretty indiscriminately and using enormous amounts of water and electricity – providing very few jobs. Why give them even less accountability, especially in rural areas where our water resources are even more constrained?
HB2774 also says small modular reactors are not subject to requirements for a certificate of environmental compatibility (CEC), if they are being co-located with a big electricity user, aka data centers. Again, the impacts of data centers on the water and the grid are enormous and a CEC should be required. It also allows a small modular reactor to replace a gas plant or other thermal plant that received a CEC without getting a new CEC. This is also a bad idea as the impacts and concerns about nuclear are different from those about fossil generation.
Ask your Senator to please vote No on HB2774!
Help Limit Groundwater Pumping!
SB1520 Now: Rural Water (Dunn) establishes an extremely weak system for groundwater "management" in a limited number of areas in rural Arizona. The bill caps the percentage reduction in groundwater pumping at one percent annually and not more than 10 percent over 10 years, far below what is needed to stabilize these and other aquifers in our state. This bill also includes weak goals that do not promote stabilizing the aquifers to limit land subsidence, earth fissures, and the continued decline of water levels, which are drying up wells in some areas.
Tell Your Representatives to oppose SB1520 . Let legislators know that we care about water throughout Arizona.
