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Metropolitan Water District Again Approves Delta Tunnel Funding

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Bettina Boxall

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Tuesday reaffirmed its approval of an $11-billion investment in a massive water delivery project with a vote that highlighted a deepening division on the agency’s board. The re-vote followed a complaint that some board members had violated California’s open meetings law when they engaged in a series of phone calls and text messages prior to the board’s April 10 decision to finance two-thirds of California WaterFix.

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Southern California Water Agency Agrees To Spend $11 Billion On Delta Tunnels – Again

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler

Southern California’s powerful water agency reaffirmed its commitment to the Delta tunnels project Tuesday, agreeing for a second time to spend nearly $11 billion on a majority stake in the twin tunnels. The vote by the board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California keeps the controversial $16.7 billion project moving forward, although plenty of hurdles remain before construction can begin, including numerous court challenges.

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Southern California Water Agency Re-Approves Delta Tunnels Funding

/in , /by /CBS Sacramento

California’s largest water agency has re-approved a nearly $11 billion plan to fund two enormous tunnels that would be the centerpiece of Gov. Jerry Brown’s ambitious project to remake the state water system. The board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California on Tuesday repeated a vote it cast in April because of concerns about the legality of the earlier decision. The environmental group Food and Water Watch and the watchdog First Amendment Coalition questioned whether the MWD violated the state’s open-meeting law through behind-the-scenes campaigning among board members. MWD officials denied wrongdoing but agreed to recast the vote.

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Texts Reveal Political Maneuvering Ahead Of MWD’s Delta Tunnels Vote

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Bettina Boxall

The days leading up to a key funding vote on the delta tunnels project were marked by intense politicking and head-counting by board members at the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The behind-the-scenes campaign to get the board to approve nearly $11 billion in financing for the water delivery project is spelled out in a series of texts and emails that Metropolitan released Thursday in response to a Public Records Act request filed by two groups that challenged the April 10 approval.

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Why Southern California Is Calling For A Do-Over On Its Vote To Bankroll The Delta Tunnels

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler and Ryan Sabalow Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

A historic vote on the Delta tunnels project is getting a do-over. Southern California’s powerful water agency — the Metropolitan Water District — said Thursday its board will vote again in July on whether to pay for the lion’s share of the project, known officially as California WaterFix. The announcement comes after environmentalists and an open government group complained that Metropolitan directors violated the Brown Act before voting in April to support the tunnels. The Brown Act sets rules intended to prevent government boards from making decisions behind closed doors.

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Officials Scrambled To Seal Twin Tunnels Deal Out Of Fear Newsom Could Kill It

/in , /by /Voice Of San Diegoby Ry Rivard Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Water officials and members of Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration rushed to seal the deal on a multibillion-dollar plan to build two tunnels to move water south from Northern California partly out of fear that Gavin Newsom could undo the whole plan if he becomes governor, newly released documents show. In fact, the jockeying was so intense, watchdog groups have alleged the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California broke state open meeting laws when it approved the project two months ago, and now Metropolitan is planning to re-vote.

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San Diego Is Getting A Future ‘WaterFix’

/in , /by /The Coast Newsby Adam Bradley

San Diegans are you ready for a WaterFix? Maybe you’d like water that is more reliable and tastes better? It’s on its way, but there are a few more approvals needed before this can happen, according to Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s General Manager Jeffrey Kightlinger. The project, called California WaterFix, is expected to modernize the state’s decades-old water delivery system by building three new water intakes in the northern Delta and two tunnels to carry the water under the Delta to the existing aqueduct systems in the southern Delta that delivers water to cities and farms.

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SoCal Water Giant Will Redo Delta Tunnels Vote Amid Pushback

/in , /by /Courthouse News Service (Pasadena)by Nick Cahill

Dodging claims that it violated open government and transparency laws before voting to spend $10 billion on a contentious water project, California’s largest water supplier said Thursday it will vote again. Despite acknowledging that some of its board members privately discussed the contentious project known as the Delta Tunnels before a critical April vote, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California insists it didn’t violate the state’s revered Brown Act.

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California WaterFix Developments Continue

/in , /by /The Press (Brentwood)by Tony Kukulich

Over the last few weeks, several significant developments related to the California WaterFix project have occurred, not the least of which was the formal creation of the Delta Conveyance and Design Construction Authority (DCA). A joint exercise of powers agreement between the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the DCA gives the the DCA responsibility to staff, design, contract, construct and finance the California WaterFix project.

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OPINION: Brown May Leave With Two Big Projects On The Bubble

/in , /by /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Dan Walters Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

During Jerry Brown’s first stint as governor four decades ago, he was openly disdainful of big public works projects, often citing British economist E.F. Schumacher’s 1973 book, “Small is Beautiful: A Study of Economics As If People Mattered.” Brown’s attitude manifested itself in a virtual halt to highway construction, which led to constant bickering with his fellow Democrats in the Legislature who wanted projects in their districts.

 

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