Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 10/05/2012 04:18:54 PM PDT
Catch up: Water district continues deliberation on Cadiz Project | Cadiz Project advances with approval of environmental report | San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors approve desert groundwater pipeline plan
A federal lawsuit aiming to block a controversial pipeline project in the Mojave Desert has been dismissed, according to one of the defendants.
Los Angeles-based Cadiz Inc., which has teamed with the Santa Margarita Water District in Rancho Santa Margarita on the 43-mile pipeline project, said Friday in a news release that a U.S. District Court Court judge dismissed the case.
“The dismissal now ends the pending federal court litigation over the Cadiz Valley Water Conservation, Recovery and Storage Project,” according to the news release.
On Aug. 30, Needles-based archaeologist Ruth Musser-Lopez, on behalf of her organization Archaeological Heritage Association, River Branch, filed the lawsuit naming Cadiz Inc., the U.S. Department of Interior, the Bureau of Land Management, San Bernardino County and the Santa Margarita Water Co. as defendants.
The lawsuit alleged violations of the National Historic Preservation Act and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, and that the Bureau of Land Management failed to conduct a proper review of the cultural and environmental impacts of the project and prepare a plan that would allow the project to move forward in the specially designated California Desert Conservation Area.
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This news release is most misleading. The lawsuit was withdrawn by the plaintiffs.
There has been no court decision upon the merits of the case and the removal of the litigation was without prejudice; so the issues may be later refiled with the court.
In short, the dismissal does not necessary end pending federal court litigation as the issues have not been ruled upon.