Cadiz company spokeswoman claims water project safe, sustainable

By JENNIFER DENEVAN
Needles Desert Star

NEEDLES — While the city council decided to reiterate their stance on the Cadiz water project during their meeting Aug. 27, Cadiz also had a response.

“The Project has been reviewed and approved under the most stringent environmental law in the United States and includes unprecedented enforcement measures to ensure that operations are safe and sustainable,” Courtney Degener, Cadiz spokeswoman, said in a prepared statement.

The response comes after the council voted to resend a letter disapproving of the Cadiz water project. They approved sending the letter to government officials in Sacramento, state senators and Robert Lovingood, San Bernardino County District One Supervisor.

“We were disappointed in the action taken by the Council this week, because Needles, which is 80 miles away from the project area and in an entirely different watershed, is one of the population centers that would benefit from employment opportunities and new tax revenue offered by the project, including $1,000 per pupil for Needles’ students every year,” she said.

“Additionally, San Bernardino County and the desert will receive significant water supply benefits from the project - more than 20 percent of project supplies have already been reserved for county-based water uses - and the city of Needles could easily take delivery via an exchange along the Colorado River,” Degener said.

“We appreciate the support of the local business community and look forward to ultimately working with the Council to deliver the many real long-term local benefits promised by the project,” Degener said.