Carlsbad Joins Revolt Against California’s ‘Sanctuary State’ Laws

california-flagThe coastal city of Carlsbad joined over a dozen other local governments Monday in formally opposing California’s “sanctuary state” laws, and supporting the federal government’s lawsuit to overturn them.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

Carlsbad’s City Council waded into the national “sanctuary state” issue Monday evening, voting 4-1 to back the federal government’s lawsuit against California.

They also agreed the city should file a legal brief “when appropriate” in support of the federal action against the state’s Senate Bill 54, which prohibits local law enforcement officials from investigating arrestees’ immigration status or reporting that status to federal authorities.

A handful of other local jurisdictions have taken a position on the state law, which limits what state and local law enforcement officials from investigating arrestees’ immigration status or reporting it to federal authorities. Federal officials have said the law pre-empts their authority.

So far three [San Diego County] cities — National City, Chula Vista and San Diego — have stepped up to support the state law, while two jurisdictions — Escondido and San Diego County — have voted to oppose it.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed its lawsuit in early March. The lawsuit seeks to overturn the Immigrant Worker Protection Act (HB 450), the Inspection and Review of Facilities Housing Federal Detainees law (AB 103); and the California Values Act (SB 54). The Trump administration argues that these laws violate the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.

In the weeks that followed, local activists, inspired by the Trump administration’s intervention, urged cities and counties to defy the sanctuary state laws and support the federal lawsuit. …

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Should desalination play a bigger role in California’s water future?

As reported by the Los Angeles Daily News:

When it comes to finding new sources of drinking water for residents of a coastal state mired in drought, some say desalination gets little respect in Sacramento.

“Desalination should be a priority,” said Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang, R-Diamond Bar, who introduced a bill last week that would write first-time goals into the state water code for a percentage of drinking water originating from the ocean.

Chang, who once served on the Walnut Valley Water District board, said she was inspired by Singapore and Australia, which fought their way out of extreme droughts in part by building desalination plants. Following operation last year of the $1 billion Carlsbad desalination plant in San Diego County, the Huntington Beach community is in the final stages of building a 50 million-gallon-per- day plant that may open by 2019, according to the website for Poseidon Water, project developer for both plants. …

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New Desal Plant in the Works at Camp Pendleton

The dramatic announcement by Gov. Jerry Brown earlier this month of a 25 percent cut in water use across much of California triggered harsh commentary in the state and across the nation over the lack of preparation by government agencies and water districts for a long-term drought. A typical focus was incredulity over a dry coastal state’s failure to embrace desalination plants, as has been done in Israel, Saudi Arabia and other arid coastal nations.

But almost none of the coverage has reflected the fact that formal, official planning has been going on for years for one of the world’s largest desal plants along the coast of the Camp Pendleton Marine base in north San Diego County. Any construction is years off, but necessary preparatory work is well under way.

The image above of a proposed desal plant there comes from a 2010 presentation by the San Diego County Water Authority. It shows how sky-high water planners are on the potential of the 17-mile Camp Pendleton coast. Attention is now focused on a site in the southwest corner of the 125,000-acre base, just north of Oceanside and about 20 miles north of the Carlsbad desalination plant that is scheduled to open in coming months.

The Carlsbad plant will be the biggest in the Western Hemisphere and is expected to produce 50 million gallons of water a day — 7 percent of the San Diego region’s needed supply.

The Camp Pendleton project would be far bigger, with desalination experts saying 150 million gallons of water a day is realistic. That would make it one of the largest desal plants in the world.

A Saudi Arabian desalination plant will produce 264 million gallons a day when its first phase is complete, Bloomberg News reports.

A 2009 San Diego County Water Authority report didn’t take it for granted that the Pendleton project’s supplies are needed. It spoke of only expanding the project to the full 150 million gallons a day “as supply and demand conditions warranted.”

After four years of drought, there’s not much doubt that California needs far more reliable water sources — especially in the San Diego region, given that local water officials have spent 20-plus years fighting with the giant Metropolitan Water District over supply and costs.

The water mega-wholesaler has long opposed San Diego’s efforts to diversify its water supply by partnering with Poseidon, a private company, to build the Carlsbad plant and by striking a deal to shift Colorado River water from agricultural uses in Imperial County to supplies for homes and businesses in San Diego County.

Originally published by CalWatchdog.com