The Modesto Irrigation District board president has requested that the state Attorney General’s office open an investigation into Director Larry Byrd’s alleged water theft.
The request comes after the MID board hit a stalemate in February about continuing an investigation into Byrd’s use of district water from 2021 to 2024. Board President Robert Frobose sent a letter to Attorney General Rob Bonta on Tuesday asking state officials to step in to look into the claims.
“I just want the truth to be known, whatever that truth is,” Frobose told The Modesto Focus. “If the allegations are to be found true, then I want the financial recovery from Larry Byrd, so that the ratepayers are made whole. When somebody steals something from MID…the rest of the ratepayers are picking up that tab.”
Since last summer, Byrd has faced questions about his use of district water on his almond orchards near La Grange outside of district boundaries, which is prohibited. The issue came to a head last September when Frobose authorized an independent investigation into the allegations.
In December of last year, a technically dense report, finalized by Visalia-based engineering firm 4Creeks, suggested that almond trees on about 100 acres owned by Byrd and his business partners required more water than could have been produced by wells during the time in question.
But because of the complexity of the findings, and the firm’s inability to definitively confirm Byrd’s use of district water, board members voted again on the issue. During a contentious, more than three-hour meeting in late December, the board voted 2-2, and the motion to continue looking into the claims failed. Byrd voted to halt further investigation into himself during the meeting.
His failure to recuse, while fellow Director John Boer did because of ties to one of Byrd’s business partners, further fed the controversy. After a request by state Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil, state ethics enforcers at the California Fair Political Practices Commission are looking into Byrd’s vote and the investigation is ongoing.
Byrd did not return calls from The Modesto Focus for comment.
The longtime MID director, who joined the board in 2011, has called the claims “political attacks” and a “witchhunt” during public meetings.
In his letter to Bonta’s office, Frobose said further investigation is warranted both to give Bryd his due process and to rebuild trust in the public utilities agency. The letter also estimates the misused water could be worth “upwards of $240,000 or more.”
“(T)here is a cloud over both Director Byrd and MID itself. Director Byrd, MID, MID farmers and ratepayers, and all Tuolumne River stakeholders have the right to due process through an open and impartial investigation following conclusions derived by 4Creeks and questions that arose subsequently,” Frobose wrote.
If Bonta’s office does look into the claims, Frobose said he expects the investigation to take several months. He said the seriousness of the allegations and potential violations must be addressed, and believes an independent state review is the best way forward.
“It is our responsibility, as elected officials, to protect the public’s interest and when a link in that chain is broken it becomes an unprecedented challenge,” Frobose said. “I believe my request for the Attorney General’s help in this situation can be the assistance we need to ensure the ratepayers are protected.”
Marijke Rowland is the editor of The Modesto Focus, a project of the nonprofit Central Valley Journalism Collaborative. Contact her at marijke@themodestofocus.org.
