In this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

Terms Used In Arizona Laws 45-461

  • Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
  • Director: means the director of water resources, who is also the director of the department. See Arizona Laws 45-101
  • Farm: means an area of irrigated land that is under the same ownership, that is served by a water distribution system common to the irrigated land and to which can be applied common conservation, water measurement and water accounting procedures. See Arizona Laws 45-402
  • 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
  • Irrigate: means to apply water to 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
  • Irrigation grandfathered right: means a grandfathered right determined pursuant to section 45-465. See Arizona Laws 45-402
  • Non-irrigation grandfathered right: means a grandfathered right determined pursuant to section 45-463, 45-464, 45-469 or 45-472. 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

  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • 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
  • Protected farmland: means land that has been designated by the director as protected farmland pursuant to section 45-483, subsection A and for which the designation has not been revoked by the director pursuant to section 45-483, subsection C. See Arizona Laws 45-461
  • Transportation: means the movement of groundwater from the point of withdrawal to the point of use. See Arizona Laws 45-402
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Arizona Laws 1-215

1. "Certificate of exemption" means a certificate which was issued by the state land department or Arizona water commission under prior statutory law for the purpose of describing specific uses and amounts of water which could not be enjoined if found to constitute the transfer or transportation of groundwater.

2. "Development plan" means a plan for the non-irrigation use of land in connection with which land has been or will be retired from irrigation for the bona fide purpose of conserving or using water for such non-irrigation use which would otherwise be used to irrigate the retired land.

3. "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.

(b) With respect to a type 2 non-irrigation grandfathered right, the holder of the certificate of type 2 non-irrigation grandfathered right.

4. "Protected farmland" means land that has been designated by the director as protected farmland pursuant to section 45-483, subsection A and for which the designation has not been revoked by the director pursuant to section 45-483, subsection C.

5. "Same ownership" means ownership by the same person or entity or by successor persons or entities as a result of succession to heirs and personal representatives, corporate and partnership reorganizations, mergers, dissolutions, divestitures, partnerships, partitions, joint ventures, foreclosures, receivership or bankruptcy, purchase of capital stock, sale pursuant to United States Code, title 11, or similar succession, but not by outright sale to a bona fide purchaser for value where no portion of or beneficial interest in the successor in interest is retained by the original owner, its shareholders, partners, limited partners or beneficiaries.

6. "Water duty acres" means the acres of land in a farm, as determined pursuant to section 45-465, subsection B, which are used in calculating the maximum amount of groundwater which may be used pursuant to an irrigation grandfathered right.

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