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Thursday’s top of the scroll: Feds want to hand over infrastructure to settle lawsuit; Westland farmers likely to reject the offer

Posted by: Maven on September 9, 2010 at 8:57 am

From the Fresno Bee:

“The federal government wants to offer west Valley farmers some of the canals, pumps and other facilities in the Central Valley Project to settle a long-running lawsuit over drainage problems.

The deal also would reduce or relieve hundreds of millions of dollars in farm debt created to build the water project. In return, farmers would be responsible for cleaning up the drainage.

But farmers, who first raised these ideas three years ago, say the offer does not have what they want most — assurance that they will get a reliable water supply to ease chronic shortages. … “

Continue reading from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

” … Shifting the cleanup cost to the private sector would save the federal government about $2.2 billion, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials said Wednesday.

The complex deal could transfer the government’s stake in local pumps and drain pipes to some of the country’s biggest farming operations, according to a bureau letter detailing the legislative strategy for Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

In exchange, farmers in the sprawling Westlands Water District and other nearby irrigators would retire a total of at least 200,000 acres of tainted farmland and bear the burden of cleaning up toxic runoff and thousands of acres of polluted soil. … “


Continue reading from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.

September 9, 2010 · Filed Under Water Agency News

Comments

One Response to “Thursday’s top of the scroll: Feds want to hand over infrastructure to settle lawsuit; Westland farmers likely to reject the offer”

  1. WaterSourceWaterBank on September 9th, 2010 9:42 am

    “… the offer does not have what they want most — assurance that they will get a reliable water supply to ease chronic shortages … “.

    Maybe someone should/could recommend to the Feds that they at least investigate a new fresh water Source of a MILLION ACRE FEET a year that could be developed without damage to the environment or the water rights of anyone.

    I have the water Source to investigate, but obviously, not the right Fed ear. Can anyone help California ?

    waterrdw@yahoo.com

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