Fellow blogger and friend Lloyd Carter emailed me this letter that the Environmental Working Group sent to Michael Connor, Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation.

Download Final EWG letter to Reclamation

The EWG urges Commissioner Connor to consider retiring more of the selenium-tainted irrigated farmland in the Westlands Water District.

If 'selenium' and 'Westlands' ring a bell, recall Kesterson Reservoir and the selenium contamination of about 25 years ago.

Want more information? Read EWG's Throwing Good Money at Bad Land.



Here is the viewpoint of the California Farm Water Coalition:

...EWG continues its efforts to bash farmers for growing the food that feeds people and supports the economy. Their analysis of farming along the Westside of the San Joaquin Valley fails to include the benefits of rural California that includes providing jobs for thousands and economically supporting the rural communities. Their myopic view on Westside farming causes to many negative impacts to not only the people of the Westside but also to all Californians.

The above does not seem to refute EWG's contention.

Retire selenium-tainted irrigated farmland? Sounds like a good idea to me, especially in light of the quote below.



"We went ahead with the Westlands project before we solved the drainage problem. We thought we knew how to solve the drainage problem. We thought the Kesterson Reservoir could be flushed on out into the [San Francisco/San Joaquin Bay] Delta. We didn't have it solidified. So I made a terrible mistake by going ahead with Westlands at the time we did." -- Floyd Dominy, former USBR Commissioner (from Else and Harrar, 1997, Cadillac Desert: Water and the Transformation of Nature. Program 3. Columbia-TriStar Television PBS Home Video.