The Region : Agency Told Not to Lobby
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has ruled that the Main San Gabriel Basin Watermaster should not engage in legislative lobbying over the issue of ground-water cleanup in the region.
But Judge Florence T. Pickard, despite a petition filed by the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District, upheld the validity of November nominations for the nine-member watermaster board. And the judge approved those who were nominated for appointment to the board.
The district had complained to Pickard about both the election process and about lobbying undertaken last year by the watermaster.
A court-created agency, the watermaster oversees pumping rights in much of the San Gabriel Valley. The Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District arranges for delivery of imported water into the region.
The two agencies have been in conflict over how to best remedy the severe contamination of portions of the area’s underground water supply.
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