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SB 1236

DCEO-BUSINESS ASSIST REFORM

104th Regular Session Introduced by Neil Anderson and 15 co-sponsors

Arizona law now allows recharging stormwater in underground storage to replenish aquifers and creates credits that can offset replenishment obligations.

Added as Co-Sponsor Sen. Chapin Rose
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Bill Summary · SB 1236

Summary — SB 1236 (2025): Stormwater storage and replenishment credits (Arizona)

Status and effective date
- Enacted and signed by the Governor on May 27, 2025.
- Effective September 1, 2025.
- Amends Arizona Revised Statutes §45-831.01 and adds §45-837.01 (Chapter 3.1, Article 3 — Water).

Purpose
- Authorizes recharge of stormwater into constructed underground storage facilities for aquifer replenishment and establishes a framework for issuing replenishment credits for that recharged stormwater. The change integrates stormwater recharge into existing water storage permit procedures.

Key provisions
1. Water storage permit eligibility (amendment to §45-831.01)
- A water storage permit may be issued where the applicant either has a right to use the source or the proposed source is stormwater that will be recharged for aquifer replenishment in a constructed underground storage facility pursuant to §45-837.01.
- Applicants must apply for any required water quality permits (ADEQ/federal) and store only at permitted storage facilities.
- Other existing permit rules remain: permits up to 50 years (renewable), permit conveyance and modification rules, and conditions for groundwater savings facilities.

  1. New §45-837.01 — Stormwater recharge and replenishment credits
    • A storer may recharge stormwater within a constructed underground storage facility in accordance with operational permit terms and applicable water quality permits and may receive a replenishment credit.
    • The Director of the Department of Water Resources shall annually determine the volume of stormwater recharged and credit the storer’s replenishment account with 95% of the prior calendar year’s recharged volume.
    • The Director must maintain records of earned and transferred credits and debit accounts when credits are used.
    • Storers may use credits or transfer them to eligible entities to offset replenishment obligations within the same subbasin. (The bill text specifies at least one allowable offset: groundwater withdrawn from a well within two miles of the constructed facility; additional offset details in the enrolled text are truncated in available document excerpts.)
    • In the House engrossed version, the provision is explicitly limited to a “storer in the Phoenix Active Management Area”; the Senate engrossed version is not AMA-limited. Consult the final enrolled statute for the precise jurisdictional scope.

Who is affected
- Entities that capture/recharge stormwater (municipalities, utilities, developers, private water managers) operating or proposing constructed underground storage facilities.
- Groundwater users in the same subbasin (who may be eligible to receive or be offset by transferred credits).
- Arizona Department of Water Resources (administration of permits and credits) and Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (water quality permitting).
- Water rights administration and groundwater management stakeholders in active management areas, particularly Phoenix AMA if the final text limits application there.

Procedural/implementation notes
- Receipt of required ADEQ/federal water quality permits is made a condition of water storage permits; storage may not commence until such permits are obtained.
- The Director is charged with annual quantification, recordkeeping, and account management for replenishment credits.
- Because some portions of the enrolled text excerpts were truncated and there are differences between Senate and House engrossed versions (notably the Phoenix AMA limitation), interested parties should consult the final enacted statute (ARS §45-837.01) for complete offset eligibility rules and the geographic scope of application.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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