Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
October 26, 2007
5. Agencies, Programs, People
QUANTIFICATION SETTLEMENT ISSUES:
Two new suits in water battle - Imperial Valley Press
Salton Sea Authority looks to future - Imperial Valley Press
Salton Sea Authority cuts jobs - Desert Sun
Two new suits in water battle
By Brianna Lusk, staff writer
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
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
The county’s lawsuit alleged air quality issues and the impact the lessened water supply would have on the
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
POWER alleges the IID violated the California Environmental Quality Act and the continuation of the QSA “threatens irreversible damage to the
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
“It’s our belief until the Imperial Valley gets total protection from the
http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2007/10/26/news/news03.txt
By Jonathan Dale, staff writer
COACHELLA — The Salton Sea Authority met here Thursday morning to discuss the future of the governing body.
With executive director Rick Daniels’ resignation and the September defeat of Senate Bill 187 — legislation that would have provided millions of dollars to help restore the Salton Sea — the authority met to figure out how it will function over the next six or so months.
“What we’ll do is that in our current La Quinta office, we’ve directed our legal people to negotiate our lease on that particular office to see if we can reach a settlement there to leave those offices,” Wyatt said. “If we’re able to do that, then we would look at moving into some offices either in
As far as the body’s employees, Wyatt said the three-person staff of the Salton Sea Authority will now be trimmed to either two full-time individuals or one full-time and one part-time employee, with a designated temporary director.
“They’re going to look at two alternatives, where we would have basically one staff member, called a project coordinator, or two staff members as co-coordinators that will work for the authority as far as working with the state and Sen. (Denise) Ducheny’s office on the governance issue and on the ground issues that we continue to deal with, such as fish cleanup issues at the Salton Sea, and other projects that we will be looking at,” Wyatt said.
“(Coachella Valley Water District) would provide a temporary director/coordinator to fill the role that Rick Daniels has had to provide more technical leadership for the authority,” he said. “That would be a temporary replacement.”
The final issue to be faced in the meeting was a call for monies to be provided by the five agencies that make up the authority, including the four main agencies — Imperial and
“The last part of it would be the main agencies would be asked to provide a $75,000 donation and the Torres-Martinez tribal nation would be asked to provide $10,000,” Wyatt said.
“It’s believed that money would be able to fund the authority for six to 10 months, and by that time it’s hoped there will be some other things that have occurred such as funding projects to run through the authority, either some grants or other projects the Salton Sea Authority can manage,” he said.
The goal is to keep the Salton Sea Authority alive long enough for a bill funding restoration to make it through the state Legislature next year.
A part of the bill that was in contention last month was the creation of a state governing body that would effectively take the place of the existing authority but would still rely on local agencies.
“There’s still a lot of work to do,” Wyatt said. “We intend to stand very firmly together.
“Our position has not changed, and we don’t see it changing.” #
http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2007/10/26/news/news08.txt
Desert Sun – 10/26/07
By Erica Solvig, staff writer
Financially strapped and leaderless, the Salton Sea Authority decided Thursday to downsize its staff and ask local governments to contribute more money and more of the workload.
The decision means the La Quinta-based authority has been reduced from four staffers supporting restoration of the state's largest lake to one staff member who likely will work out of a
The cost-cutting measures came after authority board members received a financial report showing the agency has dipped into reserves and will be slightly in the red after paying its outstanding bills.
It may have a political cost. The decision means the board won't replace the face of the authority, Rick Daniels, who left the executive director post to become Desert Hot Springs' city manager.
It's not yet known exactly what this will mean for the troubled
"Yes, we're talking about a face to the authority, which is a difficult decision to make," board president Peter Nelson said. "But at the same time, we need to have a financial responsibility as to what's available.
"At this point of time of the authority's life, that's the responsible thing to do."
Even before Daniels' departure and Thursday's downsizing, the authority's future was in question. The local agency, as it existed, was too small to oversee the costly restoration and was likely to be replaced as the lead agency at the sea when the state took over.
State officials will meet next month to nail down a conservancy or locally based state agency they hope will breathe life into a nearly $9 billion restoration plan that's stalled in the Legislature.
And though uncertain whether local agencies such as Riverside and Imperial counties would have a majority voice on that board, the authority recommitted Thursday to continuing to meld its own restoration plan into the state's.
With the authority's downsizing, Assemblyman John Benoit said "it would certainly be a concern" the local voice might get drowned out by state and federal interests.
There's already been a "significant shift" in responsibility from the local governments to the state, he said, and Thursday's decision may only add to it.
"The handwriting has been on the wall," Benoit said.
There had been talk of hiring a consultant to take over Daniels' job as lead of the agency. He's credited for bringing a diverse group across
Cost-cutting measures
But authority board members are trying to cut the monthly budget from $50,000 to $60,000 to under $30,000.
Even at a time when most of the momentum is happening in
"We're not in a position to be choosy," Riverside County Supervisor Marion Ashley said about having their own.
The Coachella Valley Water District will take over as coordinator for six months. And member agencies will pony up a total of $310,000 to help run it.
The authority has already gone through its grants and the money those groups have contributed.
Authority officials have deemed it the "minimalist scenario."
The agency has been without a director before, running for seven years without a director. But that was long before the state had unveiled its restoration plan and lawmakers began seriously debating the cost and merits of saving and maintaining the sea.
If ultimately approved, the 75-year plan would reduce the size of the sea, create marshy wildlife habitat and manage the dust to ease air quality problems.
The plan is drastically different than a plan the authority had developed for restoration.
And authority members agreed Thursday that, while they will join the to-be-finalized state conservancy that's overseeing the restoration, they won't rubber-stamp the state's vision.
"The state plan is atrocious," said board member Corky Larson, who recently settled a lawsuit she filed against the state over the plan.
"Until a better plan comes along, the Salton Sea Authority plan is what we went out to the public with. I see no reason to change that." #
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