CADIZ INC. ISSUES STATEMENT ON FEDERAL COURT RULING IN CASES CHALLENGING CONVERSION OF FORMER OIL & GAS PIPELINE TO TRANSPORT WATER
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Cadiz Inc. (NASDAQ: CDZI/CDZIP) ("Cadiz", the "Company") announced today that on September 13, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California affirmed its tentative ruling in two cases filed against the US Department of the Interior ("Interior") and US Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") by the Center for Biological Diversity and National Parks Conservation Association ("plaintiffs") challenging the adequacy of the federal review of the two rights-of-ways issued to the Company in 2020 authorizing the conversion of the natural gas pipeline acquired from El Paso Natural Gas ("Northern Pipeline") to transport water over BLM-managed lands (approx. 58 miles of the 220 mile pipeline).
In its ruling, the Court granted Interior's motion for voluntary remand, sending the permits back to the BLM while the agency considers the scope of environmental review required to approve conversion of the pipeline to transport water over BLM lands. There is a status conference with the Court set for September 26, 2022.
The Executive Chair of the Company's Board of Directors, Susan Kennedy, made the following statement regarding the ruling:
Yesterday's ruling will have no impact on completion of the Cadiz Water Conservation and Storage Project and we do not expect additional environmental review by the BLM to cause significant delay. Cadiz' ownership of the pipeline is unaffected by the Court's ruling, and any additional environmental review required by the BLM to convert the pipeline to transport water will be done concurrently with the existing construction schedule.
Full environmental review of the Cadiz Water Conservation and Storage Project was completed in 2012 with a final ruling issued by the California Court of Appeal in 2016. California Courts have determined the Groundwater Management, Monitoring and Mitigation Plan adopted by San Bernardino County and reviewed under California Environmental Quality Act ensures that the Project will have no adverse environmental impacts. The Company has no concerns with additional environmental review and believes review can be conducted without impeding the construction timeline.
While permits for conversion of the Northern Pipeline are reviewed by federal agencies, the Company will continue with the conversion of the pipeline and development of the Project, including the construction of three new groundwater wells beginning in the 4th quarter of 2022. Construction of the three wells will start in early October and proceed through 1st quarter of 2023. With three new wells online, the Cadiz Ranch will have 10 wells in operation with total annual capacity of 25,000 acre-feet of water per year.
Founded in 1983, Cadiz Inc. (NASDAQ: CDZI) is a California business with more than 70 square miles of property, significant infrastructure, and water rights. The Company's mission is to deliver sustainable solutions to California's clean water challenges. The Cadiz Water Conservation and Storage Project is an innovative aquifer storage project that will create a new water supply for 400,000 people a year by conserving billions of gallons of renewable groundwater currently being lost to evaporation and salt contamination at Mojave Desert dry lakes. With state-of-the-art groundwater management technology, the Project will put conserved water to beneficial use and create a much-needed groundwater bank interconnecting California's existing water infrastructure. For more information, please visit the Company's website www.cadizinc.com or review the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENT: This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including statements related to the future operating and financial performance of the Company and the financing activities of the Company. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those reflected in the Company's forward-looking statements include the Company's ability to maximize value for Cadiz land and water resources, the Company's ability to obtain new financing as needed, the receipt of additional permits for the water project and other factors and considerations detailed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
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SOURCE Cadiz Inc.
