This past year there have been many victories internationally against P3s. One of the most exciting was in Stockton, California where citizens scored a huge victory over an international water conglomerate in December. A coalition of three groups the Concerned Citizens Coalition of Stockton, the Sierra Club and the League of Women Voters convinced a Superior Court judge to tear up a $600 million water privatization contract between OMI-Thames and Stocktons city council. The groups argued that the contract violated the states environmental laws and the judge agreed, saying the city had six months to wind down the relationship that took effect last August. The decision is a major blow to OMI-Thames, which had hoped to showcase this agreement while lobbying other cities. Furthermore, the judge made it clear that an environmental review must always be conducted before contracts like this are signed.
