A group opposing Imperial Irrigation District’s Quantification Settlement Agreement filed an amicus brief that says the QSA jeopardizes future farming in Imperial County.
Citizens for a Reliable Water Supply submitted the court brief Feb. 10. An amicus brief is a document filed by an outside party with an interest in the subject matter of a lawsuit, but is not party to the suit.
The QSA is a water pact to transfer conserved IID entitlement water to Southern California water districts. It was invalidated by a Superior Court in Sacramento in February 2010, but the ruling is on appeal and the QSA remains in effect until a ruling is made.
The judge ruled against the QSA because it requires the state to pay for all environmental impacts, such as mitigation for the Salton Sea. The sea is impacted from the water transfer, Charles DuMars, CRWS attorney, said.
Citizens for a Reliable Water Supply said residents will end up paying for environmental impacts tied to the sea.
With California’s current budget deficit, there is no money for environmental expenses. So Imperial residents will end up paying for resulting impacts, DuMars said.
The invalidation gave IID a chance to re-negotiate the QSA, Ralph Menvielle, a CRWS representative, said.
“We can now fix things that are not fair to Imperial Valley,” Menvielle said.
DuMars also criticized the fallowing program as inadequate conservation. Fallowing conserves water by taking farm fields out of production.
A new QSA should propose alternatives and prove conservation methods actually save water, DuMars said.
The QSA runs through 2047, David Osias, IID attorney, said. It is preposterous the QSA threatens future farming if it wins its appeal, he said. The total amount of water transferred will be 303,000 acre-feet. That will take until 2026 and fallowing ends in 2017, he added.
“DuMars seems to not know hundreds of millions (of dollars) is paid for water and mitigation,” Osias said.
He said DuMars appears to say the QSA is killing the Salton Sea. But even without the QSA, the Salton Sea continues to die, he said.
The court brief will have almost no effect on the outcome of the QSA ruling, Osias said.
But IID will file a brief in response by early March. That could delay a final decision but it is expected by the end of the year, he said.
Staff Writer William Roller can be reached at 760-337-3435 or wroller@ivpressonline.com
Citizens for a Reliable Water Supply submitted the court brief Feb. 10. An amicus brief is a document filed by an outside party with an interest in the subject matter of a lawsuit, but is not party to the suit.
The QSA is a water pact to transfer conserved IID entitlement water to Southern California water districts. It was invalidated by a Superior Court in Sacramento in February 2010, but the ruling is on appeal and the QSA remains in effect until a ruling is made.
The judge ruled against the QSA because it requires the state to pay for all environmental impacts, such as mitigation for the Salton Sea. The sea is impacted from the water transfer, Charles DuMars, CRWS attorney, said.
Citizens for a Reliable Water Supply said residents will end up paying for environmental impacts tied to the sea.
With California’s current budget deficit, there is no money for environmental expenses. So Imperial residents will end up paying for resulting impacts, DuMars said.
The invalidation gave IID a chance to re-negotiate the QSA, Ralph Menvielle, a CRWS representative, said.
“We can now fix things that are not fair to Imperial Valley,” Menvielle said.
DuMars also criticized the fallowing program as inadequate conservation. Fallowing conserves water by taking farm fields out of production.
A new QSA should propose alternatives and prove conservation methods actually save water, DuMars said.
The QSA runs through 2047, David Osias, IID attorney, said. It is preposterous the QSA threatens future farming if it wins its appeal, he said. The total amount of water transferred will be 303,000 acre-feet. That will take until 2026 and fallowing ends in 2017, he added.
“DuMars seems to not know hundreds of millions (of dollars) is paid for water and mitigation,” Osias said.
He said DuMars appears to say the QSA is killing the Salton Sea. But even without the QSA, the Salton Sea continues to die, he said.
The court brief will have almost no effect on the outcome of the QSA ruling, Osias said.
But IID will file a brief in response by early March. That could delay a final decision but it is expected by the end of the year, he said.
Staff Writer William Roller can be reached at 760-337-3435 or wroller@ivpressonline.com
