22 Mar Water District Not Material to Cadiz Water Project Implementation Decides to Take No Action on a Letter of Intent
“This week the Upper District Board of Directors considered a non-binding Letter of Intent, or LOI, to explore the potential acquisition of up to 10,000 acre-feet of water from the Cadiz Water Project pursuant to a staff recommendation on the agenda for March 20, 2018. There was no specific contract under consideration. The Project is already fully subscribed with 50,000 acre-feet reserved under contracts, option agreements and letters of intent, but engaged with Upper District due to their expressed need in acquiring supplemental water and a vote of support for the Project in December 2017. The LOI item was placed on the district’s agenda on the basis of a staff recommendation and at its water committee direction.
Due to a scheduling conflict, the Company asked that consideration of the non-biding LOI item to be continued and Upper representatives agreed to hear the item at a future meeting instead. Contrary to customary procedure, the request for continuing item was unexpectedly denied and the matter taken up at the March 20 meeting without the benefit of a staff presentation or one from the Company. The Board ultimately voted to take no further action on the LOI at this time. Their decision to not proceed with a purely exploratory non-binding LOI at this time is not material to Project implementation or permits and approvals. The Upper District is not an approving agency for the Project or necessary for Project construction.
The Cadiz Project has been fully reviewed and approved in accordance with CEQA and upheld by California’s Courts. The Project has all permits and approvals required to deliver a long-term annual average of 50,000 acre-feet per year for 50 years of reliable water supplies to Southern California and to construct its wellfield on the Company’s private property and a pipeline within an existing railroad right-of-way.”