Environmental Groups Sue Trump Over Cadiz Project in Mojave

Environmental organizations, led by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club, filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court challenging the Bureau of Land Management's approval of the Cadiz water project pipeline. The pipeline would revive a defunct oil‑and‑gas line to pump and sell groundwater from the Mojave Desert, a move the plaintiffs say violates the National Environmental Policy Act and other public‑land statutes.

The suit alleges that the project would dry up springs that sustain desert plants and animals, threatening species such as the desert tortoise and desert bighorn sheep. Plaintiffs also warn that lowering the water table would expose playa lakebeds, creating dust storms laden with toxic heavy metals. Attorneys Elizabeth Forsyth and Lisa Belenky said the administration is repeatedly overlooking legal errors and environmental harms, despite prior court rulings against the Cadiz project.

The litigation follows a 2021 lawsuit that also contested the project’s approval during the previous Trump administration, highlighting ongoing legal battles over water extraction in the Mojave.