House Refuses Loan To Pinal Farmers Facing Colorado River Water Shortage
by Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services
Farmers will have to wait for federal money to replace lost water for their crops after lawmakers blocked a plan to drill new wells.
The House Appropriations Committee rejected pleas to advance a $20 million state loan to Pinal farmers impacted by the drought contingency plan, or DCP. Farmers had hoped to build new wells and canals before huge reductions of water from the Colorado River set in by 2022.
But several lawmakers questioned why taxpayers should fund it when the contingency plan already set aside some cash for farmers.
