By Melissa St. Aude | Casa Grande Dispatch
Pinal County Supervisor Steve Miller was appointed Tuesday to serve as chairman of the Pinal Local Water Group, an independent committee established last year to analyze an Arizona Department of Water Resources rule that would phase out agricultural extinguishment credits.
Miller replaces Dick Powell, who stepped down, saying that serving as chairman prevented him from fully representing farmers and the agricultural community.
“I feel I can’t advocate as a chairperson,” Powell said. He will remain a member of the committee.
Also on Tuesday, Vice Chairwoman Tiffany Shedd stepped down from her post on the committee because of family issues. Her husband, Rodney Shedd, will take her place on the committee.
Committee member Richie Kennedy was selected to replace her as vice chairman.
The 15-member committee is tasked with finding potential alternatives to ADWR’s plan to gradually eliminate extinguishment credits. Members were appointed late last year.
While members of the group have disagreed about the ultimate fate of extinguishment credits, on Tuesday they agreed that new sources of water need to be identified for farming and development to coexist.
Committee member Grant Ward said the group should begin to consider solutions that do not penalize farmers but still require developers to access other sources of water rather than relying on groundwater.
