LOS ANGELES, Aug. 30, 2007 -- Cadiz Inc. announced today an update on its litigation against the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California ("Metropolitan"). As previously reported, the Los Angeles County Superior Court had scheduled a hearing for today, Aug. 30, 2007, to hear Motions for Summary Judgment brought by both Cadiz and Metropolitan. By the Court's order, the hearing was not held today and has been rescheduled for October 4, 2007. The trial will now commence April 7, 2008.
Cadiz filed litigation against Metropolitan in November 2005 seeking damages for Metropolitan's failure to complete the environmental review of the Cadiz Groundwater Storage and Dry-Year Supply Program ("Cadiz Program" or "Program"), including its failure to accept permits that had been offered by the U.S. Department of the Interior that would have allowed the Cadiz Program to be implemented with other participating water agencies. Full details of the litigation can be found in the Company's public filings.
Originally proposed in 1997, the Cadiz Program would have built and operated facilities for conjunctive-use aquifer storage of imported Colorado River water, and for extraction and delivery of stored Colorado River water and indigenous groundwater to Metropolitan's service area.
Despite Metropolitan's decision not to proceed with the Program in 2002 and the ongoing litigation, the Company has continued to pursue the implementation of the Cadiz Program. In early 2007, we filed permit applications and updated environmental documents with San Bernardino County in an effort to complete the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") review of the Program. In August, the County deemed those applications complete and is now preparing a schedule for CEQA review.
The need for water storage and supply programs in southern California has not abated and the advantages of underground water storage are increasingly evident. The Cadiz Program will help meet the changing water supply needs of the entire region when it is implemented.
Founded in 1983, Cadiz Inc. is a publicly held water resource and real estate development firm. The Company owns significant landholdings with substantial water resources in eastern San Bernardino County, California.
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