Cadiz Water Project Approved by Federal Regulators
The United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has issued a letter to Cadiz Inc., the Santa Margarita Water District and the Arizona & California Railroad (ARZC), authorizing the use of the existing ARZC right-of-way to construct a pipeline and related railroad improvements as part of the Cadiz Water Project. After this ruling, no further federal permits and authorizations are required for project construction to begin.
“The company is very pleased to receive this letter from the BLM regarding the Project’s proposed use of the railroad right-of-way,” said Scott Slater, Cadiz President and CEO. “We have long maintained that the 2015 evaluation by BLM was wrong on the law, wrong on the facts and inconsistent with the policy driving co-location of infrastructure in existing rights-of-way to minimize project footprints and environmental harm.”
The letter, which formally rescinds the agency’s October 2015 evaluation that prevented the project from utilizing the ARZC railroad right-of-way, follows multiple requests from bi-partisan congressional representatives and a broad coalition of national labor organizations, water districts, railroads, rural communities, farmers and numerous stakeholders that have urged congressional action to clarify the scope of railroad rights-of-way over federal lands.
Related News
From Archive
- Fatal trench collapse halts sewer construction in Massachusetts; two workers hospitalized
- Alaska LNG pipeline could require 7,000 workers at peak construction, developers say
- Ohio trench collapse kills one worker, injures two during pipe installation
- Philadelphia-Camden sewers spill 12 billion gallons of sewage a year into local waterways, report finds
- California invests $590 million to boost water reliability, upgrade sewer systems statewide
- Glenfarne Alaska LNG targets late-2026 construction start for 807-mile pipeline project
- Fatal trench collapse halts sewer construction in Massachusetts; two workers hospitalized
- Massive water line failure leaves majority of Waterbury without service
- Infrastructure failure releases 100,000 gallons of wastewater in Houston; repairs ongoing
- Construction jobs stumble into 2026 after weak year
Comments