1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

Block the Cadiz water project. The Trump administration's BLM just approved a key piece of Cadiz Inc.'s decades-long scheme to pump groundwater from beneath the Mojave Desert and pipe it 162 miles out — and this decision needs to be challenged and reversed before construction begins. This isn't a close call. Six of the proposed pump stations sit in desert tortoise habitat. Tribal leaders from the Chemehuevi and Fort Mojave nations say the project would desecrate sacred lands and drain what they call the "living heart of the desert." Scientists warn the aquifer cannot sustainably replenish at the extraction rates Cadiz is proposing. The Center for Biological Diversity called the BLM's approval "a green light for environmental destruction" — and they're right. California already passed legislation in 2019 requiring scientific review and State Lands Commission approval. The Biden administration reversed the first Trump-era clearance for good reason. Now Cadiz is back, and the EPA is even dangling a $194 million low-interest loan to help fund it. Use every tool available — legislative, legal, and budgetary — to stop this project from moving forward.