Prison Authorities Say They Might Reconsider Decision to Drill Wells

State prison authorities on Wednesday said they might reconsider their controversial decision to drill wells to supply water to a proposed 2,200-bed prison in Lancaster.

Craig Brown, undersecretary of the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency, told several dozen Antelope Valley municipal officials and civic leaders that he is “open to working this out” with them.

However, Brown labeled as awkward the timing of their bid to reopen the matter--just as grading for the $250-million prison is beginning. He also expressed worry that any change in the state’s position could give prison opponents ammunition to mount a new legal challenge to the facility, which is scheduled to be completed by October, 1992.

The city of Lancaster and Los Angeles County already have one lawsuit pending to block construction of the prison, charging that the environmental impact report for the prison was inadequate. A Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the state, but an appeal is scheduled to be heard later this year.

At issue Wednesday was whether the state Department of Corrections should supply the prison with well water or with water from the State Water Project delivered by a private pipeline, proposed to be built near the prison.

Citing lower costs to taxpayers, state officials say that they decided a year ago to use wells as the primary source of the approximately 24 million gallons of water a year the prison is expected to need. They estimate that the wells and storage facilities will cost about $3.1 million, compared to $4.2 million for the initial hookup to the State Water Project.

Angry local officials--who say they only recently became aware of the decision to pump ground water--dispute those cost estimates. Moreover, they argue that prison officials are ignoring the spirit of municipal regulations that require developers to use surface water obtained from the State Water Project as their primary water source. The correctional agency contends that as a state institution, it is not subject to local laws.

Local officials--many of whom oppose the prison site chosen by the state--are also concerned that ground-water pumping will contribute to the sinking of Rogers Dry Lake Bed at Edwards Air Force Base and of areas near Lancaster, where the ground has already dropped up to five feet.

State corrections officials say that their geologists disagree that the wells will cause more sinking.

Another twist in the dispute was added by a state official, who asserted that special interests are behind the lobbying campaign. The official, who asked not to be identified, said that some of the impetus for Wednesday’s meeting came from home builders who would be served by the private water line and want the state to share in its cost.

But Assemblyman Phillip Wyman (R-Tehachapi), who helped set up the meeting, disputed that assertion, saying he has “no knowledge that there is a specific development” that would benefit from the prison tying into the State Water Project.

Wyman and state Sen. Newton R. Russell (R-Glendale), who both represent the Antelope Valley, called Wednesday’s meeting in the Capitol to attempt to reach a compromise between local and state officials.

Afterward, Wyman voiced guarded optimism that eventually the state will abandon the wells as the primary source of prison water. “We’ve opened up a strong line of communications,” Wyman said, but “it’s not going to be easy to hammer out a solution.”

Lancaster City Councilman George Theophanis, however, said that from his perspective the meeting “didn’t go too well.” He said corrections officials “were very, very disgruntled with us being there. It’s like they’re going to do what they want to do” despite local objections.

Times staff writer John Chandler contributed to this story.