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J.U!"",UV! ..;Hi;:;"'!I;;;La..l)' rUH;) VUL Ul VValer UlSpute I News ill[~ 1:;lte Index ~~ 'aHmes com -_..._-~-,.._.~-.., ...,. ,," .....'.",...,., "'A_...=, I. I..J t.:-t. .., ,~,;; '~-,;~::i.: :;~,:'i~.~;~"~;:~~ A PEPPERDINE MBA "~--'T ~:y~. -c_~' ::j::~~:J ~-':~~i#-..: ',' <. F Thursday, February 11, 1999 Interior Secretary Pulls Ollt of Water Dispute . Allocation: Move halts mediation. State's share of Colorado River could be at stake. By TONY PERRY, Times Staff Writer ADVERTISEMENT R" ,...;:; .. ,'-. . ~. n~nterior Secretary Bruce Babbitt on Wednesday halted his attempts to mediate an increasingly bitter dispute between the Metropolitan Water District ofSotlthern California and two agricultural irrigation districts--a sign that a water deal considered l!:ey to the state's water future may be collapsing. If negotiations fail between the MWD, the Imperial Irrigation District and the Coachella Valley Water District, it could set off a domino effect that might prompt Babbitt to carry through on his oft-stated threat to reduce the amount of water California receives from the Colorado River. Babbitt is withdrawing from the negotiations out of annoyance at the MWD's recent insistence that he consider changing the 1931 agreement that gives farmers more than 75% of the state's annual allocation from the Colorado River. The MWD suggestion, an eleventh-hour change in position after years of negotiation, has infuriated farmers and set off threats of litigation. Babbitt told MWD directors two weeks ago that he does not have the authority to change the 1931 agreement and that the MWD's insistence otherwise threatens to scuttle a carefully negotiated water transfer between Imperial Valley and San Diego County. So far, the MWD has refused to back down. In effect, Babbitt is calling the MWD's bluff to determine whether the agency wiIl risk having the state's Colorado River share reduced by continuing to bring up the 1931 agreement as part of its negotiations with Imperial and Coachella. On the other hand, if the MWD remains firm and declines to sign an agreement with Imperial and Coachella unless modifications are made in the allocation formula, it would test whether Babbitt's threat is real. Many in the water industry believe that no secretary of the Interior will ever reduce water allocations to California and thus bring economic turmoil to the largest state in the nation, particularly as a presidential election approaches. In a fax to all sides, Babbitt encouraged the MWD and the two agricultural irrigation districts to continue negotiations without his assistance--although history suggests that without http://www.1atimes.com/HOMEINEWS/ST A TE/tOOOO 13155 .html Page I of3 , e tit e 2/11/99