IID responds in writing to QSA Q&A
By: David Steffen

The Imperial Irrigation District issued its responses to the public’s questions regarding the Quantification Settlement Agreement litigation on Tuesday.

The eight-page response answered 16 questions that members of the public posed at IID’s QSA workshop on Feb. 2. The event encouraged the public to ask IID staff various questions about QSA litigation. IID staff noted the questions but did not answer the questions at the workshop.

IID General Manager Brian Brady said issuing a written response to the questions after the workshop allowed for a more organized question-and-answer process.

“It was probably the most effective way of making sure we got all the questions that anyone wanted to ask,” he said.

Among the questions and accompanying answers were the risks of an invalidated QSA, who paid attorneys’ fees and how much a stoppage of the QSA would cost the district.

Brady said IID’s question-and-answer captured the essence of most of the questions the public posed to IID.

“I think we got the preponderance of the major issues documented from the workshop,” Brady said.

Director Anthony Sanchez said issuing a written response, rather than an on-the-spot answer at the workshop, prevented the question-and-answer from becoming a heated debate. He also said the answers to the questions are now easily accessible to the general public.

“You have answers on paper that people can always refer to,” Sanchez said.

The question-and-answer format gave the IID a good idea of what questions people have about the QSA, he said.

“I think, overall, it went well,” he said. “I think it was a good first step, and we had a chance to listen to a lot of the questions the public has.”

Brady said the public’s question-and-answer session went well and the public who posed the questions at the workshop had a real concern for the Valley’s future.

“The things they said really reflected their genuine interest in the welfare of the Valley,” Brady said. “That was very encouraging to me.”

>> To read the full text of the IID’s QSA question and answer, visit http://www.iid.com/Water/QSAProgressReport