Boswell Company and Sandridge Partners. All rights reserved. We further understand that Mr. Vidovich has caused both surface and pumped groundwater to be physically moved via pipeline and canals from and to lands controlled by him, thereby crossing boundaries of counties, GSAs, water districts, subbasins, defined places of use, and perhaps areas that are otherwise regulated.. The state of California is at fault. The project was ordered to remain in stasis until the issue comes back to court. It should be noted here that Angiolas general manager is Matthew Hurley. Indeed, as president of the board, Vidovich has a great deal of influence in directing much of the water districts business. Get inside access to SJV Water by becoming a member. The project was made possible by a grant from the Water Foundation with additional support from INN and the Fund for Investigative Journalism (FIJ). Nor for the man who runs it, John Vidovich, nor for his current pipeline project that will move water from various places in Kings County to various other undisclosed locations. The giant JG Boswell Company has little love for Sandridge Partners. var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; Boswell Company and Sandridge Partners, owned by John Vidovich. About 90% of its farms are considered family owned, according to the 2017 US Department of Agriculture farm census. Known Addresses for Sandridge Partners, L.P. 960 N San Antonio Rd Los Altos, CA 94022 920 W Fremont Ave Sunnyvale, CA 94087 PO Box 719 Kettleman City, CA 93239. But comments made during a hearing Monday on Sandridges restraining order pulled back the curtain on the real concern. Latest Why work with Sunridge Partners. The association contends that those lands arent in the rivers service area.. And he served two terms on the Santa Clara County Planning Commission, appointed once in 1990 and he again in 2010, igniting controversy among activists concerned about sprawl. Boswell and Vidovich are also on opposite sides of whether Kings River flood water is being fully utilized by its rights holders. According to legal briefs filed by Tulare Lake, all the floodwater that can be put to beneficial use has been, and theres no leftover water available for Semitropic. Numbers havent been set in stone just yet, but its looking like the Kings/Tulare farming areas will settle somewhere near allowing 1.5 acre feet of water to be pumped per acre. The Water Board began holding hearings on the issue this past summer. That shadow drove him to work hard in an effort to be useful to De Anza. Its not good in the long term, he said. Theres nothing hidden about how Sandridge moves water, he said. Attorneys for Sandridge and Angiola argued the pipeline isnt an Angiola project as it lies outside the districts boundaries. Sandridge has since installed coffer dams in the canal to dry a section in anticipation of cutting through the banks, but otherwise construction has stopped. DWR staffers now have two years to decide if the plans come up to snuff or not. Regardless of Thursdays ruling, onlookers can expect it wont be the end of this issue. The agencys role is simply to review groundwater plans to see if theyre adequate. Local Because once its pumped out, we arent getting it back.. Welcome to Kings County, where water wars still rage both in and outside the courthouse and often have deeper currents than what appears in legal papers. The titans behind the comments are J.G. What Will Become of Fallowed Valley Farmland? Page said Vidovich is a tough businessman but thats all. Stephen Vidovich retired but kept a watchful eye on the company, getting daily reports and giving advice, John Vidovich told the San Jose Mercury News after his fathers death. Board of Directors Sandridge Partners plans new beef processing plant | John Lindt This is privately owned water being moved on private land, Whitney said, warning that requiring an irrigation pipeline to undergo CEQA review could impact irrigation projects on a wide scale throughout the San Joaquin Valley. As far as Walker knows, no agency, city or county board is trying to figure out whats really happening. Their concern is where Vidovich is taking the groundwater. The judge made a partial ruling in June that long standing river agreements do allow river owners to move water within the service area. Applicants must be a UK resident aged . Its just smart business. Yes, locals have a bad taste in their mouths from Vidovichs water moves, I was told by several people, many of whom said they were too afraid of retaliation to use their names. To bring it to fruition the district would have to apply to the United States Department of Agriculture or California state revolving fund for money, then build a new treatment facility and construct a line to get its wastewater to the Sandridge line. Vidovich dismissed the Boswell letter as throwing rocks to distract from the larger issue over-pumping. You put 20 straws in it, it dont take very long.. Boswell has refused requests to answer questions about the companys water moves including how much it pumps. Groundwater and floodwater are two very different things. Clearly, much more can be done to slow down this undesirable result.. But in terms of equity, yes, there is a problem.. Bigger landowners hold contracts for most of the state water brought to Kings from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and they own large portions of the private ditch companies that divvy up the Kings River water and ferry it to farms. Over the years, the farm has truly been a family operation with Karen keeping the books and their children helping to bring in the harvests. The comments dont come from Boswell and Vidovich themselves, of course, but from the groundwater sustainability agencies each farming operation essentially controls. Powell Warns That Long Downturn Would Mean Severe Damage, Poll: Americans Are the Unhappiest They've Been in 50 Years, Valley Hospitals Overwhelmed and Over Capacity As COVID-19 Cases Surge. DAILY DIGEST, 2/28: Boswell-Vidovich ditch bank battle continues About 25,000 acre feet of groundwater. Its not true, he wants to farm.. The company is run from its Pasadena offices by James W. Boswell, chairman, CEO and great-nephew of the founder. Previously, Hugues was a principal investment professional at GDF SUEZ, leading transaction in LNG, infrastructure and power projects globally. A skill his detractors say hes used to maneuver water away from its rightful place to his own benefit. And that may be true. Vidovich shrugged it off, saying the flaw amounted to putting the descriptions on the wrong pages and quickly appealed. The entire San Joaquin Valley, including Kings County, is critically over drafted. From ending poverty and hunger to climate change and sustaining our natural resources, food and agriculture lies at the very heart of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Avila, along with his wife and children, grows nearly 100 varieties of fruit trees on multiple small plots of land and sells the produce at dozens of farmers markets from Beverly Hills to San Luis Obispo. Sandridge has said in court filings it intends to include a smaller sleeve within its larger pipeline to potentially take sewage water from Stratford PUD. Is John Vidovich Planning to Sell Off the Valley's Lifeblood? Digging a new well can cost tens of thousands of dollars, and as each farmer chases water deeper into the earth, it not only pushes others to go deeper, it undermines expensive efforts to recharge the aquifer. Hes now the president of that powerful panel. Everyone else is leaving.. Those plans were posted online and the public comment period recently closed. They point to three new pump stations along Angiolas main canal just north of the county line that have the ability to move 100,000 acre feet a year into pipes that head south and west. The truth, as always, probably lies somewhere in between. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); (function() { Ben holds a BComm in Economics and Finance with first class honours (Deans list) from the University of Melbourne and a BCompSc in Computer Science with first class honours from Monash University. People complain all the time about whats happening with our water, but no one wants to do anything, he said. Comments from the Boswell camp got downright personal, calling out Vidovich by name and all but accusing him of hiding groundwater usage by moving it through pipes outside the area. Angiola was ordered to stop pumping and eventually the districts came to a settlement. But the letter continued to intrigue Chrissakis. The Blakeley runs southwest next to Highway 41 down to Kettleman City, conveniently near to the California Aqueduct. Under his leadership, Buena Vista has installed a pipeline system to reduce reliance on canals, which lose a lot of water to seepage and the district has become extremely active in buying up land for water banking. When pressed, though, they acknowledged it could be done. If the State Water Resources Control Board determines that the Kings River Water Association isnt fully using its water rights, it could give those rights away. The most recent Boswell-Vidovich beef joins at least two other ongoing legal battles over water. Boswell bulldozers allowed to stay put, blocking Kings County pipeline First of all, the myriad laws and rules that govern water wouldnt allow that to happen, they say. That said, she explained the department would be looking closely at groundwater pumping and water transfers from Kings County, because it appears this is a hot spot where the math doesnt work.. We lose entrepreneurs. Kings County approved 1,238 new agricultural well permits between the start of the last drought in 2012 and 2021, according to county records. No, he said. World, Latest Lemoore Council likely to respond to proposed feedlot near Lemoore and But Semitropic is the first district to get this close to making it a reality. environmental, ethical and socially responsible principles and work with you to achieve the best possible outcomes for all stakeholders during the whole lifetime of our ownership, Promoting food and agribusiness products and systems that contribute to improved health and well-being, We have also made a commitment to meaningfully contribute to and find solutions in our investments to the SDGs. The SDGs where we. Those are just some of the indirect costs attached to moving large amounts of water out of a region, Zetland said. Get inside access to SJV Water by becoming a member. Sunridge Partners (UK), LLP acts as the investment advisor for the Sunridge funds that invest in agribusinesses globally. Vidovich, he said, is just the new water baron on the block, thats all. Boswell farming company pumps there too. But water pipelines arent permitted or monitored by Kings County, according to the county Public Works Director, so its impossible to know if they stop at the county line.
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