The nation’s largest agriculture-to-urban water transfer has been send back to the Sacramento Superior Court after the Third District Appellate Court overturned a previous ruling today.
The ruling last year by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Roland Candee that invalidated the Quantification Settlement Agreement has been reversed with direction in a 166-page opinion released about 10:30 a.m. today. The case was remanded to the trial court for further proceedings.
The county, air pollution control district and other parties had sued the Imperial Irrigation District, the state and other water agencies after the set of agreements to transfer IID-entitlement water to the coast was approved. One portion of the agreement that requires the state to pay for restoration costs for the Salton Sea was ruled invalid last year as the judge said it was essentially required the state to write a blank check for the restoration, which is unconstitutional. That ruling put the future of the entire QSA at risk.
In today’s appellate court ruling, judges dismissed the claim that the state’s obligation is unconstitutional.
IID General Counsel Jeff Garber and Imperial County Counsel Michael Rood were not immediately available for comment.
The Imperial Irrigation District, the state, Coachella Valley Water District, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, San Diego County Water Authority and other parties on the side for the QSA shall recover their costs on appeal, according to the ruling.
More information will be available in Thursday’s edition of the Imperial Valley Press.
