• Agricultural company claims attorney general lacks authority to sue • Filings claim authority lies solely with Arizona Department of Water Resources • Ongoing litigation puts spotlight on gaps in groundwater regulation, policy

A legal fight over whether groundwater pumping by Fondomonte Arizona, a Saudi-backed agriculture company, constitutes a public nuisance now centers around whether the Arizona attorney general has the right to sue in the first place.

The question has yet to be answered by a Superior Court judge, but Fondomonte’s claim that Attorney General Kris Mayes has overstepped her authority and encroached on the responsibilities designated to the Arizona Department of Water Resources under state law raises a point of reflection on the routes for policy changes and the pl

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