Trump administration approves California company's plan to pipe water out of the Mojave Desert

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

See more from the L.A.Times in Google Search.

Set us as preferred The company Cadiz Inc.has been trying for years to pump groundwater in the Mojave Desert and ship it to thirsty cities in California.

Now, the Trump administration has signed off on part of its plan: converting an oil and gas pipeline to transport water across the desert.The federal Bureau of Land Management released documents Thursday saying the company’s plan to repurpose 162 miles of the pipeline to transport water “will not significantly affect” the environment.“We’re excited to achieve this pivotal milestone.After decades of planning and environmental review, the project has now reached the construction stage,” said Susan Kennedy, chair and CEO of Cadiz.

Climate & Environment The source of the Colorado River in the Rocky Mountains is drying up, threatening a critical water lifeline for about 35 million people and 5 million acres of farmland across the Southwest.Environmental advocates and leaders of Native tribes, who have been fighting the project, criticized the decision.“This groundwater mining proposal would drain the desert and rob the Mojave of its rare springs and wildlife habitat,” said Chance Wilcox, California desert associate director of the National Parks Conservation Assn.“It’s indefensible that the Trump administration would once again try to revive the pointless Cadiz project, by defying decades of scientific warnings and refusing to conduct an environmental review of the groundwater mining.”The application for the federal authorization was filed by the Fenner Gap Mutual Water Company.

The documents say the company plans to build seven pump stations, three of them located on federal land managed by the agency.The 30-inch steel pipeline runs underground from Cadiz’s desert property, near the town of Amboy, northward to the town of Mojave.The Bureau of Land Ma...