EVMWD to supply LEAPS water, Owes Nevada Hydro $2 million
EVMWD Settlement Article - From We are Temescal Valley Website
A press release jointly issued Aug. 29, 2018 by the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District and The Nevada Hydro Company quietly announced that a settlement had been reached in the $24 million lawsuit the hydroelectric company filed in September 2012 against the water district.
The lawsuit claimed breach of contract by the water district when in 2011 the district terminated a 1997 agreement it had with Nevada Hydro for its Lake Elsinore Advanced Pump Storage project (LEAPS).
The press release stated: “After many years of litigation, the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District (EVMWD) and The Nevada Hydro Company (Nevada Hydro) have reached a settlement of litigation regarding a 1997 development agreement. ‘We have agreed to the settlement to protect EVMWD’s rate payers from the costs of ongoing litigation and to avoid exposure to millions in damages,’ said John D. Vega, general manager for EVMWD. The San Diego County Superior Court has entered a consent judgment approving the settlement agreement.”
What the press release didn’t say:
- Basically, EVMWD will sell to Nevada Hydro and purchase if necessary the “initial fill” of 15,000 acre-feet of water for the LEAPS project and charge Nevada Hydro a 10 percent administrative fee based on its cost to purchase the water. EVMWD will purchase additional water as needed and sell it to Nevada Hydro.
- The water district will return to Nevada Hydro $154,852, the amount that Nevada Hydro claims was erroneously refunded to EVMWD by the U.S. Forest Service.
- EVMWD must within 30 days of the settlement pay Nevada Hydro $2 million in additional monetary compensation for dismissal of the lawsuit.
- The water district is expressly forbidden to oppose Nevada Hydro and/or the LEAPS project and must withdraw any opposition issued in the past and to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Scroll below to download and view the settlement's court documents
Credit: Janlee Watson, We are Temescal Valley | http://www.wearetv.org/2017/10/07/leaps/
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