Editor's Note: Stay tuned to KAWC as civic engagement reporter Carmen Marquez will add to this story later.
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AgTech LLC is challenging the Arizona State Land Department’s cancellation of five agricultural leases on state trust land in Yuma County, arguing the department failed to follow a required notice and cure process.
The company’s attorneys responded to cancellation letters dated Sept. 10, saying AgTech was not given an opportunity to correct alleged violations before the leases were canceled.
“The statutory process is straightforward,” AgTech attorney Stuart Kimball said in a released statement. “Before a lease can be canceled for a curable default, the lessee must receive proper notice and an opportunity to cure.”
AgTech points to Arizona law that generally requires the State Land Department to provide a certified notice of default and, for leases of 10 years or less, 45 days to correct a violation.
The company says the department did not provide that notice before canceling leases.
AgTech also disputes the underlying violations identified by the department.
The company says its leases specifically allow the application of biosolids, which can be used to improve soil conditions and irrigation efficiency. AgTech says the leases do not specify limits on the amount that can be applied.
The company also says it notified the department before biosolids applications were made. In the case of one lease, AgTech says state records show the department was contacted more than 90 days before an application.
AgTech disputes the department’s characterization of decorative rock stored on the properties as a lease violation, but says it will remove the rock except for material needed for agricultural roads and pads.
The company is also addressing what the department has identified as removable improvements. AgTech says the State Land Department had known about those improvements for years without issuing a notice of violation or default. The company says it had therefore believed the improvements were authorized and that it is now resubmitting documentation for previous approvals.
AgTech argues that some of the issues raised by the department fall under the authority of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and says state agencies cannot impose unauthorized lease conditions or duplicate another agency’s regulatory authority.
The company is asking the State Land Department to clarify publicly whether the Sept. 10 letters actually terminated the leases. AgTech says it plans to pursue administrative and legal remedies.
The dispute also has economic implications in Yuma County, where AgTech says it employs more than 100 people.
AgTech says it has consistently attempted to comply with its leases and with state and federal requirements. The company contends the leases should not have been canceled without the notice and opportunity to cure required under state law.
