"Federal authorities have moved to reverse a Trump administration decision that cleared the way for Cadiz Inc. to pipe water across public land in the California desert.
The request filed in federal court Friday, which must still be granted, could deal a blow to the company’s decades-long effort to pump groundwater from beneath its desert property 200 miles east of Los Angeles and sell it to urban Southern California. The project is fiercely opposed by conservationists, who say it will dry up desert springs and seeps relied upon by Indigenous tribes and rare wildlife. Cadiz insists its plans won’t harm springs in the area.
“The Biden administration has taken the right step to stop this dangerous water grab that will destroy life-giving springs in the central Mojave Desert,” said Ileene Anderson, senior scientist with the Center for Biological Diversity. “It’s a really good thing for the desert, because it will keep the project from moving forward.”"
Alex Wigglesworth and Ian James report for the Los Angeles Times December 4, 2021.
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