Author Archives: Andrew R. Henderson, Esq.

About Andrew R. Henderson, Esq.

Andrew Henderson, a former Vice President and General Counsel of the Building Industry Association of Southern California, Inc. (2005-2013), presently practices law on behalf of select private and public clients in Southern California, focusing on land use issues and environmental law. See www.hendersonlawsc.com

The Bureau of Land Management’s California Staff Needs a Legal Education Concerning the Proposed Cadiz Valley Water Conservation, Recovery & Storage Project

On October 2, 2015, the California State Office of the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management (the “BLM”), issued an “administrative determination” letter (the “October 2nd Letter”).  In it, the BLM opined that the proposed Cadiz Water Project in San Bernardino County (“Cadiz”) may not locate a water conveyance within a willing railroad’s 200′ wide federally-granted right of way unless the proponents first apply to the BLM for further study and federal permission. In doing so, the BLM mishandled the legal test that applies to the Cadiz project’s proposed use of the railroad right of way.

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