As if all common sense hadn’t already fled the land, now the Feds want to give most of San Luis Reservoir to our close personal friends: Westlands Irrigation District.

If you’ll recall, Westlands is the irrigation district that hugely overpaid for the Bollibokka Club, removing one of the obstacles to raising Shasta Dam.

And yes, this is the same district that helped irrigate thousands of acres of Central Valley land into salty uselessness, and then sued the government to clean it up.

How could it get worse?

The complex deal would transfer the federal government’s stake in the San Luis Reservoir, pumping plants and miles of canals to some of the country’s biggest farming operations, who also would gain rights to a large percentage of the water stored there.

In exchange, farmers would be responsible for disposing of toxic runoff and cleaning up thousands of acres of tainted land that is too salty for crops after intensive irrigation.

Shifting that cost over to the private sector would save the federal government about $2.5 billion, said U.S. Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Jeff McCracken.

Environmentalists and congressional representatives briefed on the plan Thursday expressed surprise at the proposal, which was entirely different from previous plans.

That’s showing them! It’s how you stick it to predatory agribusiness! Woo-hoo. Kick ‘em in the ass and send ‘em… wait. Wait a minute.

They make the mess, and we’re giving them the reservoir so they’ll clean it up?

The rub here is that the district doesn’t so much need the water–they’re simply interested in selling the hugely subsidized stuff to urban areas at a monster profit.

If you’re like me, your chest positively swells when you see corporate welfare the free market working for the benefit of all.

If you’ve got the stomach, you can read all about it at: State — Central Valley farmers may get partial ownership of reservoir.

Normally, this might fly under the Underground’s radar, but the Westlands/Shasta Dam connection is too much to ignore.

And besides, I’m pissed. Who is the Westlands Irrigation district?

Westlands is the nation’s largest water district and includes giants of agribusiness, such as Harris Farms, one of California’s biggest farming operations and Tanimura & Antle, the nation’s top lettuce grower.

Excellent. They’re already benefitting from the one of the biggest federally subsidized water giveaways in the history of man, and now they want more.

So much for the family farm.

It’s important to note that this hummer of a plan was created by our friends at Westland along with nine other irrigation districts.

Clearly – like Nestle – these folks have our best interests at heart.

[tags]westlands, water, california, [/tags]

Posted in Environment, News.