(IID Board to move forward with divestment procedures)…They gave that direction to the General Manager.

At the Imperial Irrigation District Board meeting Tuesday, the Directors said the procedure should move forward as long as the threat continues. The threat, as the Board sees it, is Assembly Bill 854. The bill, authored by Riverside County Assemblyman Chad Mayes, would add six members from Riverside County to the IID Board. This would give Riverside a majority vote on every issue addressed by the IID Board, including water. The IID says this could threaten the District’s water rights, and therefore threaten Imperial Counties livelihood. Mayes has said his intention was not to threaten IID’s water rights, and would be willing to amend his proposed bill. IID Board President Erik Ortega said Tuesday that was not good enough. He said the Bill had to be eliminated.