For Immediate Release: January 8, 2020
Contact: Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, 209-479-2053, barbara@restorethedelta.org
Stockton, CA – Restore the Delta has sent a second comment letter to the Bureau of Reclamation regarding the Westlands Prepayment Contract. This second letter focuses on the process by which the negotiation was conducted.
Here is our first comment letter dealing with the substance of the contract.
Restore the Delta’s executive director Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla said:
“Twenty interested parties were basically shut out of the contract negotiations process between Westlands Water District with the Bureau of Reclamation. Call-in numbers for the public were withheld. Ample notice of meetings was not provided. And legally published meeting notices were vague. As is customary with Westlands Water District, it appears that an effort was made to hide the development of the permanent water contract from the public. It is time for Westlands’ secretive pursuit of control over California’s water governance to end.
“State and elected officials should be asking themselves, if Westlands Water District (a public agency) is so beneficial to the well-being of Californians, then why do they need to conduct their business in the shadows?”