Imperial Irrigation District seeks Quantification Settlement Agreement resolution
By: David Steffen

During today’s 1 p.m. Imperial Irrigation District meeting in El Centro, the Board of Directors will vote to pass a resolution about the Quantification Settlement Agreement tentative invalidation.

The board had voted unanimously on Dec. 22 in closed session to file its intent to appeal the QSA tentative invalidation if it became final.

On Dec. 28, the IID board voted to postpone a motion to re-vote on QSA appeals after IID Director Michael Abatti requested to rescind his vote. The motion was postponed due to Director Anthony Sanchez’s absence.

Abatti had said he wanted to see the judge’s final ruling and take all options into consideration before voting to begin the appeals process.

Director James Hanks has offered a resolution that clarifies the board’s position on the QSA.

The resolution requests a stay, or the continuation, of the QSA transfer during a potential appeals process. It also states that there can be no resolution to Colorado River water disputes in California.

It acknowledges that the QSA continues to be “a source of controversy” and that the IID board intends to work with Imperial County to discuss potential Salton Sea impacts. In the resolution, it seeks to uphold the QSA while fixing any potential problems.

IID Director John Pierre Menvielle said the resolution will seek to improve upon the QSA.

“The resolution tries to fix the QSA, mitigate the Salton Sea and work with Imperial County,” Menvielle said. “Hopefully, we get a 5-0 vote out of this like we have in the past.”