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PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced Wednesday she’s suing a for allegedly violating a public nuisance law, contending that its groundwater pumping threatens the public health, safety and infrastructure of local communities in a rural western county. The complaint filed in Maricopa County Superior Court alleges that the pumping at a Fondomonte Arizona, LLC. alfalfa farm has had widespread effects in the Ranegras Plain Basin of La Paz County, harming everyone who depends on basin water by drawing down supplies, drying up wells and causing the ground to crack and sink in some areas. The lawsuit is the latest action by Arizona against foreign companies that use huge amounts of groundwater to grow thirsty forage crops for export because of climate challenges in other countries. Rural Arizona is especially attractive to international businesses because it has no groundwater pumping regulations. The lawsuit alleges that since 2014, Fondomonte has extracted huge amounts of water that accelerated depletion of the basin’s aquifer. The company is a subsidiary of Saudi dairy giant Almarai Co. “We find the allegations of the Attorney General totally unfounded, and we will defend any potential action against Fondomonte and our rights vigorously before the competent authorities,” Fondomonte said in a statement Wednesday. “The company has invested significantly to bring the latest conservation technology and applies environmentally sustainable practices on these long-established farms,” it said. “Fondomonte has continued to develop responsibly during its time farming in the state and the company complies with all state regulations. ” across the West, particularly in states like Arizona, which relies heavily on the dwindling Colorado River. The drought has also made groundwater — long used by farmers and rural residents without restriction — even more important for users across the state. Mayes told reporters Wednesday that the Arizona Legislature has done nothing to fix the groundwater problem despite knowing about the problem for years. “While laws regulating groundwater pumping could have prevented this situation, the legislature’s inaction has allowed the crisis to grow,” Mayes said. “When the legislature fails to protect our most basic resources, the attorney general must step in.” La Paz County Supervisor Holly Irwin, a Republican, commended Mayes, a Democrat, for attempting to address what she described as her community’s “most challenging” concern. “I know that my constituents will be thrilled over this, that somebody is actually paying attention to the real problems here,” Irwin said during Wednesday’s news briefing via a video conference call. Mayes’ lawsuit alleges that Fondomonte’s actions are a public nuisance under a state statute that prohibits activity that injures health, obstructs property use, or interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property by a community. Mayes called the company’s groundwater pumping “unsustainable” and said it caused “devastating consequences” for people in the area. “Arizona law is clear: no company has the right to endanger an entire community’s health and safety for its own gain,” she said. The lawsuit seeks to enjoin the company from further groundwater pumping it says is “excessive” and require that an abatement fund be established. Arizona officials have been targeting Fondomonte for more than a year over its use of groundwater to grow forage crops, by not renewing or canceling the company’s leases in in western Arizona. Some residents there had complained that the company’s pumping was threatening their wells. ___ Gabriel Sandoval is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Gabriel Sandoval And Anita Snow, The Associated PressPUNE: Students of the Army Institute of Technology (AIT) displayed exceptional talent and innovative skills by winning the first prize in two problem statements in the prestigious ‘Smart India Hackathon (SIH) 2024’. The grand finale of this hackathon was recently held across 51 nodal centres nationwide. The SIH, a flagship initiative of the Government of India, continues to inspire innovation and problem-solving among the youth. Known as the nation’s largest open innovation platform, SIH allows students to address real challenges faced by ministries, industries, and organisations. Two teams from AIT, Team Black Syndicate and Team Carbon Daters, showcased their projects in the hackathon. Team Black Syndicate comprised Chetan Singh as the team lead along with members Yash Pathak, Dharjinder Singh, Roshnee Gouda, Aditya Pratap, and Rajat Singh and jointly won the first position and a cash prize of ₹ 100,000 at the Noida Institute of Engineering and Technology, Greater Noida. Team Black Syndicate developed a solution of ‘creating a cyber triage tool to streamline digital forensic investigation’, a challenge sponsored by the National Investigative Agency (NIA). The project created a user-friendly digital forensics tool that streamlined evidence importation and analysis. Team Carbon Daters comprising Kaushal Vyas as the team lead and members Nikhil Dhariwal, Riya Kumari, Shubham Kumar, Ayush H, and K B V Kishore, jointly won the first position and cash prize of ₹ 100,000 at IIT Tirupati for making a ‘portal for innovation excellence indicators’. The team created a user-friendly portal that measures and showcases innovation in educational institutions. This problem statement was sponsored by the All-India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), department of the ministry of AYUSH. Professor Vaishali Ingale and professor Kuldeep Hule provided valuable guidance to both teams. Major general K K Chakrabarti, chairman of AIT; brigadier Abhay A Bhat, director of AIT; and Dr B P Patil, principal of AIT congratulated both the teams for their outstanding achievement.

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