You'd never know to look at it but underneath the arid land lies the Fenner Basin, a massive aquifer that holds between 17 million and 34 million acre-feet of water, about as much water as in Lake Mead. Cadiz currently uses the water for its 500 acres of farmland. But no one gets rich growing lemons in the desert.

Democratic members of Congress are supporting a bill that aims to strengthen environmental protections for low-income communities and would enable people who are disproportionately affected by pollution to sue under the Civil Rights Act.

For the past three years, female motorcyclists have descended on Joshua Tree for the Babes Ride Out campout and group ride.

The Mojave Desert Land Trust, a nonprofit conservation group that has opposed the pipeline, echoed that concern. “He was one of the folks directing operations at the law firm that was lobbying for Cadiz, and that’s a pretty close link,” said Frazier Haney, conservation director at the land trust, adding that “it’s very troubling that Mr. Bernhardt was on the transition team.”

"State officials are now in a position to have a strong voice on the issue, and the federal government’s announcement on the pipeline doesn’t mean the project is cleared to move ahead", said Frazier Haney, conservation director of the Mojave Desert Land Trust, which opposes the project. “This may be an illusion that they’re close to building their project, but they still have some significant challenges to deal with,” Haney said.