Posted: Friday, October 18, 2013 5:37 pm
Remember those two other desalination projects?
California American Water's moving forward with test wells, but DeepWater Desal and the People's Project Moss Landing Water Project are also still both in the running with desal proposals of their own.
DeepWater Desal, based in Moss Landing, won up to $1 million toward environmental review from the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, back in March. Those funds came even though the district is backing the mayors' water authority in supporting Cal Am, as a contingency plan.
Even though the water management district described its contribution to DeepWater as a back-up plan if Cal Am fails, public water advocacy group WaterPlus doesn't see it that way.
The group filed suit Friday in Monterey County Superior Court against DeepWater Desal and the water district, arguing the cost-sharing amounts to favoritism and violates the California Environmental Quality Act.
The agreement, "coupled with financial support, public statements, and other actions by [MPWMD] public officials, constitutes approval of a private project," the lawsuit states.
The group is asking a judge to toss the cost-sharing agreement. DeepWater Desal CEO Brent Contantz and water management district officials were not immediately available for comment Friday afternoon.
WaterPlus President Ron Wietman also submitted a request to the Monterey County Civil Grand Jury to investigate the collapse of Cal Am's prior project, the Regional Water Project.
He asks the Grand Jury to look at not just the DeepWater deal, but also the county's capitulation to Cal Am in agreeing to not enforce its ordinance requiring public ownership of desal plants, as well as issues around Steve Collins, the former Monterey County Water Resources Agency official facing conflict of interest charges that tanked the old project.
http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/blogs/news_blog/article_97b01d4a-3856-11e3-a597-001a4bcf6878.html
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