An alfalfa-growing megafarm can’t halt a public nuisance lawsuit accusing it of excessive groundwater pumping in the southwest corner of Arizona, plagued with fissures and land subsidence, a state judge ruled Friday. Fondomonte Arizona LLC, which accounts for more than 80% of groundwater pumping in the 912-square-mile Ranegras Plain Basin, asked Maricopa County Judge Scott Minder to pause a 2024 lawsuit filed by Attorney General Kris Mayes so the Arizona Department of Water Resources could first implement its own restrictions. The department designated the basin an active management area in January and has begun a two-year process aimed at cutting groundwater pumping by 50% over 50 years. 

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