CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : MODESTO : S.F. Plans Suit Over Treatment Plant

The city of San Francisco has notified the Modesto Irrigation District that it intends to file suit challenging a proposed water treatment plant. “It is truly with a heavy heart that the city has determined that it must proceed with litigation regarding your environmental impact report for the domestic water treatment plant,” Mayor Art Agnos wrote the district. The lawsuit would challenge an environmental impact report on the $200-million plant that would deliver Tuolumne River water to 160,000 customers in Modesto and outlying areas. San Francisco officials charge that the report did not adequately analyze the underground water supply or detail the effects on San Francisco’s water supply and does not explore conservation options. MID President Bill Lyons called the pending litigation an attempt by San Francisco to control more than its share of river water. “We will not sit down and talk with a gun to our heads. It’s blackmail,” he said.