Two new suits in water battle By BRIANNA LUSK, Staff Writer
Thursday, October 25, 2007 10:48 PM PDT
Opponents to a controversial 75-year water pact are asking the courts to consider halting future water transfers until the cases are settled.
Two opposing groups of the 2003 Quantification Settlement Agreement have filed injunctions in state courts.
It is the latest move in an ongoing legal battle over the signing of the QSA and the Imperial Irrigation District’s request to have it validated by the state.
“This is the first opportunity the parties have had to stop the QSA and water transfer so we can get our case heard on its merits,” said Jim Abatti, a member of Protect Our Water and Environmental Rights.
POWER and a group of local farmers known as the Imperial Group have filed the preliminary injunctions.
The QSA was intended to prevent future water wars between state agencies that rely on the Colorado River.
The agreement cut the water flow in the Valley and transferred water to other agencies.
Until now the lawsuits against the QSA, known as the consolidated QSA cases, were unable to move forward because of a lawsuit filed by Imperial County.
The county’s lawsuit alleged air quality issues and the impact the lessened water supply would have on the Salton Sea were not adequately addressed. The court put a two-year stay on the rest of the cases.
The county’s lawsuit was dismissed earlier this year, allowing the consolidated QSA cases to go forward.
IID General Counsel Jeff Garber said the IID is going to oppose both injunctions.
“We’re in the process of doing that,” Garber said.
The motions are scheduled to be heard in Superior Court in Sacramento on Jan. 31.
POWER alleges the IID violated the California Environmental Quality Act and the continuation of the QSA “threatens irreversible damage to the Imperial Valley environment.”
POWER also alleges the QSA Environmental Impact Report is fundamentally flawed.
Abatti said as the lawsuits have been tied up in the courts, it’s necessary to stop the water transfers now until the issues are resolved.
“It could be years of litigation,” Abatti said.
IID Director Mike Abatti, Jim’s brother and once a member of POWER, withdrew himself from the QSA lawsuits earlier this year.
The Imperial Group’s lawsuit challenges the QSA and the IID’s signing of the water pact.
The Imperial Group also challenges the water rights IID holds in trust.
The Imperial Group also has sought to have the court recognize it represents all landowners in the Valley.
Mike Morgan, a member of the Imperial Group, said the injunction outlines ways IID did not fully address air quality issues caused by the exposed playa around the Salton Sea.
“It’s our belief until the Imperial Valley gets total protection from the Salton Sea, we can’t be transferring water because it’s our only leverage,” Morgan said.
" THEY ARE STEALING YOUR WATER!!!!! WAKE UP!!!!! NO WATER---------NO VALLEY. "
bfusi wrote on Oct 26, 2007 4:42 PM:
" One way to make IID more financially efficient would be for others to stop creating issues that makes them waste huge amounts of money in court readdressing QSA issues. The canal is finally being dug. Let it be. "
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Gamecock wrote on Oct 26, 2007 5:18 PM: