The State - News from Sept. 11, 1988

A lawyer for western San Joaquin Valley farmers, breaking ranks with other powerful farmers, has called for taking out of service selenium-laced farmland in the Westlands Water District, the nation’s largest irrigation district. Paul Minasian, a lawyer for the 150,000-acre Central California Irrigation District in Merced County, proposed that some acreage in the 600,000-acre Westlands Water District in Fresno County be taken out of production to save valuable farmland downhill that he said was being waterlogged by runoff from Westlands. Minasian made his startling proposal at a Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board workshop on drain water discharge standards for the San Joaquin River. Unless something is done, tainted ground water from Westlands soon will force many farmers out of business, Minasian said.