Battle rages over ‘sweetheart deal’ between Trump administration and giant water district

Critics call it a “sweetheart deal” between the Trump administration and the Central Valley’s largest agricultural water district, and they claim it unfairly lines the pockets of major farm owners while imperiling California salmon and other fish species. “And now we have a chance to reverse the contract.” Climate & Environment Westlands Water District gets permanent U.S. contract for massive irrigation deliveries The Interior Department on Friday awarded Westlands Water District, a former client of Secretary David Bernhardt, a permanent entitlement to roughly twice as much water as the city of Los Angeles uses in a year. The three-judge appellate court agreed with a Superior Court judge’s ruling that the water district’s draft contract was “materially deficient in its failure to specify Westlands’ financial obligations under the anticipated contract.” The environmental groups also have a related case pending in federal court and argue the government should be barred from delivering water to Westlands under the contract. John Buse, senior counsel at the Center for Biological Diversity, said the massive water diversions put the delta ecosystem at grave risk, and “these schemes to lock in permanent deliveries of California’s most precious resource are dubious and illegal.” “We’d like to see the Bureau of Reclamation just set aside this contract and enter a new process with Westlands that looks at the full environmental consequences, including on salmon and Delta fish,” Buse said. In a recent report released by the California Water Impact Network, former state water official Max Gomberg said the federal government’s method of allocating costs contains major flaws, and “the biggest omission is the environmental damage” caused by water diversions.