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Department of the Interior rolls back environmental protections for Mojave water grab but the battle


According to the Mojave Desert Land Trust, the Department of the Interior has issued a decision that weakens environmental protections around the controversial Cadiz water project. The decision was a Bureau of Land Management ruling made public recently that Cadiz Inc. does not need a federal permit to build a 43-mile pipeline along a railroad right of way on public lands in the Mojave Desert.

The proposed pipeline would transport billions of gallons of water each year from an aquifer in the eastern Mojave Desert, part of the Mojave Trails National Monument, for use in communities along the coast in southern California. A federal permit would have mandated environmental studies prior to construction of the pipeline.

The Cadiz water grab, which endangers wildlife in the eastern Mojave, continues to face a hurdle as the California State Lands Commission has requested that a lease permit be applied for by the company in order to have the pipeline cross a parcel of state land.

"This latest decision by the Department of the Interior makes clear that the federal government is intent on rolling back environmental protections on public lands in the California desert. It is more important than ever that the state of California take a strong position as a champion to protect precious groundwater and other public resources. It is clear that the State Lands Commission lease issue must be addressed before the Cadiz project can move forward," said Frazier Haney, conservation director, MDLT.

The Cadiz water project has faced a number of obstacles over the lengthy campaign to extract water from the pristine desert aquifer to sell to urban southern California. It had almost been stopped for good until the Trump administration named it a priority infrastructure project earlier this year, in keeping with the administration's apparent belief that the only good environment is a dead environment.

David Bernhardt was appointed the Deputy Interior Secretary in July. Bernhardt was previously a partner at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, a law firm that lobbied for Cadiz. As second in command at DOI, he now has the power to ease regulations on the same interests he was formerly paid to represent. This would, in any ethical administration, be a clear conflict of interest. But these are not ethical times.

"It is troubling that the Department of the Interior is intently focused on advancing the Cadiz project by weakening protections on public lands related to the project," noted Haney, in a gross understatement.

Cadiz wants to transport up to 16.3 billion gallons of groundwater per year on land surrounded by Mojave Trails National Monument – one of the monuments under threat of being scaled back as part of a DOI review.

"Water is a precious resource in the desert. This project is a direct threat to springs in the area – the only water source of their kind within 1,000 square miles. The project relies on widely contested science as a basis for its claim that local communities and wildlife won't be jeopardized," Haney said.

Still, the request for a lease for a one-mile section of the pipeline provides only a small protection for the aquifer that wildlife relies upon in that part of the Mojave. A piece of state legislation, AB1000, the California Desert Protection Act, could have provided more concrete protection, but the California Senate Appropriations Committee refused to consider and vote on the act.

“Shamefully, it appears that Senate Pro Tem Kevin DeLeon’s and Senator Ricardo Lara’s support for healthy parks and water supplies does not extend to the California Desert," said David Lamfrom, California Desert Director for the National Parks Conservation Association. "DeLeon has been a leading voice in resisting harmful actions by the Trump Administration, but has decided to sit by idly while the Trump-backed Cadiz project is deregulated and fast-tracked, despite known issues with bad science and environmental harm.

“The Trump Administration rolled back existing federal review requirements of the project earlier this year, which created the need for Assemblymember Friedman’s legislation.

“AB 1000, which sought to apply safeguards to harmful projects such as the Cadiz Inc. proposal that seeks to drain 16 billion gallons of water per year from the Mojave Desert is commonsense. Cadiz is the biggest threat to our state’s largest National Monument, Mojave Trails. Senators DeLeon and Lara held this bill from receiving a vote, despite strong support from the Governor and Lieutenant Governor.

“National Parks Conservation Association has spent more than a decade fighting to protect fragile water resources in the California desert that our parks and wildlife rely on. We support Mojave Trails National Monument and understand that Cadiz, through support from the Administration, has placed a bulls-eye on it. Our partners, our community, and our champions understand that this effort does not end with today’s disappointment, and it does not end with Cadiz draining our precious desert. We will fight for what is sacred in the Mojave.“

Lamfrom's not the only one speaking out against this dangerous water grab.

"This ill-conceived plan to take water from an underground reservoir jeopardizes our region's future water supply, and begs for federal review," said Needles Mayor Edward T. Paget. "The first proposed phase of this project, taking water from desert resources over a 50 year period, is reckless and fails to adequately identify where its replacement will come from. The Needles City Council unanimously opposes the Cadiz deal and supports a comprehensive federal evaluation of this project!”

Not even Cadiz Inc.'s neighbors support their greedy water grab.

“For more than 50 years, the National Chloride Company of America has employed people, created significant revenue, provided a great tax base for San Bernardino County, and supplied a natural product that helps the economy," said Dave Oeshner, plant manager for National Chloride Company of America. "Now we stand to be ruined by the proposed Cadiz Inc.

“This project seems eerily reminiscent of the Old West, when ranchers upstream deprived those downstream of water critical for their herds. But this time, it’s the Cadiz Valley Water Conservation, Recovery and Storage Project that stands to block water from our long-standing mining operation and run us out of business. Such an impact would be felt by the companies who purchase from us, and consumers who purchase cheese, beer, feed and construction materials.

“The Cadiz project jeopardizes our investment and contribution to the economy," Oeshner added. "We've been here over the long haul – and, in fighting this ill-devised water grab, we plan to stay.”

A nearby rancher also has concerns about the impact of the water project.

“I am against any project that will take water out of the desert and sent it to the cities," noted Rob Blair, a rancher from nearby Essex. "The desert does not recharge water like other environments. Sometimes we go years with little or no rain. My ranch lies entirely within the identified recharge basin for the Cadiz Water Project. I fear for my wells and springs. My family has been ranching here since 1913 and we have developed over 30 springs and wells for livestock and wildlife use. If my wells and springs go dry, I will not be able to continue ranching.”

Even the Joshua Basin Water District has weighed in on Cadiz.

“The Joshua Basin Water District Board of Directors has grave concerns about the potential environmental impacts of the Cadiz Valley Water Conservation, Recovery and Storage Project on the Mojave National Preserve, as well as to properties of the Bureau of Land Management,” said Mickey Luckman, president of the Joshua Basin Water District.

“We have requested that this project be required to submit to an immediate federal environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act, including determining the impact Cadiz pumping could have on desert seeps and springs throughout the area and the concern that the desiccation of Bristol and Cadiz Dry Lakes could result in fugitive dust that would harm regional air quality.

“The Board is aware that many desert areas, including ours, are in a state of overdraft requiring that we import water from Northern California," Luckman continued. "Before water is exported from the desert, we believe there should be scientific certainty that the exportation will neither create another overdraft situation nor will it have a significant impact on the delicate and sensitive desert environment.”

“Even before taking office, members of the Trump administration have taken unprecedented actions to waive required environmental protections for the California desert’s national parks, protected lands and water," said the NPCA's Lamfrom. "The actions all point to green-lighting the harmful Cadiz Water Mining Project. Trump Administration has done everything possible to advance this project that would drain 16 billion gallons of water each year and put Mojave National Preserve and Mojave Trails National Monument at risk. The Cadiz project was also placed on the administration’s ‘Emergency and National Security’ projects list and rescinded federal environmental review of the project. The president also placed Cadiz’s lobbyist as the head of his transition team, and has now appointed him Deputy Interior Secretary."

Senator Dianne Feinstein continues to oppose the Cadiz water project.

“It’s no surprise the Trump administration is willing to look the other way while Cadiz drains a vital desert aquifer. California must now step up to protect the Mojave desert from Cadiz and its friends in the administration," Feinstein said in a statement this week.

“Knowing a federal environmental review would expose the dangers of its project, Cadiz has waited years for an administration willing to greenlight its plans without any real oversight. That gamble has clearly paid off. Cadiz is now set to drain more than three times the aquifer’s natural recharge rate, putting life in the Mojave desert at risk.

“Just as alarming, Cadiz’s water is reported to contain deadly chemicals like arsenic and cancer-causing Chromium-6. Cadiz has provided no evidence of how it would deliver that water safely to the Colorado River Aqueduct, threatening the water supply for 19 million Californians.

“The Trump administration might be willing to let Cadiz profit by harming our public lands but California shouldn’t give up. Our state can still require a stronger review of Cadiz’s plans. The fight to protect our desert isn’t over.”

No, it isn't. The Sun Runner opposes the Cadiz project based upon valid concerns regarding the impact on desert flora and fauna, as well as impacts upon human residents and businesses across the portion of the Mojave Desert that relies upon the aquifer Cadiz plans to tap for its groundwater sales. It is clear that Cadiz Inc. stands to make billions of dollars, but wildlife and human residents may pay the price for the company's greed.

As the former president of the California Deserts Visitors Association, I must note that the project has the potential for causing irreparable harm to the Mojave Desert and the Mojave Trails National Monument, which could directly impact tourism and its positive economic contribution to the region.

As a resident of the Mojave, I have to note that the prospect of turning the desert into what so many ignorantly consider it to be already - a lifeless wasteland - is not acceptable on any level, let alone so that a corporation can cash in on a resource that doesn't truly belong to them, but rather, to all of us - including the wildlife dependent upon water for their literal survival.

We will continue to cover the Cadiz project, and we will continue to oppose it.

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