In 2001, the Line Siting Committee of the
Arizona Corporation Commission voted 8–1 to deny a request to build a power plant in the basin, on grounds of environmental incompatibility. The proposed plant, fueled by natural gas, would have required of water a minute to cool its steam turbines. In April 2015, the
US Department of the Interior and Byner Cattle Co., a subsidiary of
Freeport-McMoRan, proposed an agreement to transfer water rights from the Byner Cattle Co.'s Planet Ranch holdings on the Bill Williams River to the Big Sandy Basin pumping wells. According to the agreement, water will be pumped from Byner Cattle Co/Freeport wells to the mining town of
Bagdad, Arizona in neighboring
Yavapai County.
Mohave County, which would lose water rights and tax revenue, filed an opposition to the agreement at the Arizona Department of Water Resources: "Mohave County, filed a letter of opposition with ADWR objecting to the Sever and Transfer Applications. ADWR has not taken final action on the Sever and Transfer Applications or the Objections." The agreement allows Freeport to pump and divert an additional 10,055 acre-feet (343 million gallons) of water per year from the Big Sandy Basin. According to the Arizona Department of Water Resources, 96% of all pumped water from the Big Sandy Basin is used for mining purposes. The basin's average annual recharge is 22,000 acre-feet. The
Hualapai Tribe, in exchange for their agreement to the water deal, received a $1 million donation for business development from Freeport. ==See also==