Salton Sea’s leases might end
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 5, 2008 at 6:20 amFrom the Imperial Valley Press:
At the shore of the Salton Sea, a several-foot-wide strip of land crunches underfoot. Fish scales, heads, even full skeletons litter a shoreline where the water has rapidly receded over the past several years.
And yet the sea remains a tourist destination in the fall and winter months. “We get pretty busy. We get a lot of people here,” Rosa Reagles said. “They love the desert. People like to come out and see the desert and see the Salton Sea.” Reagles is assistant general manager for the Salton Community Services District.
Reagles, along with Dennis Reiger, president of real estate company Executive Homes, are trying to develop the Salton Sea, to turn it into a thriving community year-round, as well as boost tourism for the snowbirds that come to roost. But the land they want to develop is leased from the Imperial Irrigation District. The 50-year-old leases expire in October 2009, and the IID is unsure whether it is going to renew them. Until a decision is made, Reagles’ and Reiger’s projects are halted.
“We would lose the restaurant, we would lose the RV park,” Reagles said, if the IID did not renew the leases.
At issue is whether the properties will be flooded:
Whether or not the Imperial Irrigation District decides to renew a group of leases around the Salton Sea depends largely on whether or not those properties are likely to flood. “The IID cannot be put in a position where we’re going to be liable for more flooding,” said IID board President John Pierre Menvielle.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the sea level rose dramatically and several IID-leased properties flooded. Residents sued the IID and the board passed a resolution to no longer lease properties below a certain elevation, 220 feet below sea level, where a study showed the sea was unlikely to rise above.
The IID was held responsible partially because of the unique nature of the Salton Sea.
Read more from the Imperial Valley Press by clicking here and here.
Salton Sea could become a tourist destination
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 4, 2008 at 6:14 amFrom MyDesert.com:
Consider a scenario in which the sea is fully restored and the Torres-Martinez Band of Cahuilla Indians undertakes the construction of a combination hotel, casino and marina on the Salton Sea waterfront. Such a move could begin a vibrant resurgence of development at the sea and the surrounding area including the Coachella Valley.
The marina should cater to all kinds of boat owners with boat slips for small sailboats and motorboats, a launching area, a cleaning area, and a place for seasonal storage.
To bring about success for such a venture, qualified promotion agents should prepare a long range promotion plan; all involved should apply whatever effort is necessary to carry out that plan.
All of this would bring people to this area instead of to the river. Residential construction would follow along with the usual commercial opportunities, as well as the attendant property tax and sales tax revenue. Employment possibilities would be extensive.
This is just one scenario that could occur. However, such a scenario could not be accomplished at all if the state were to implement its current “preferred alternative.“
That plan attempts to “restore” only 20 percent of the sea and leaves the rest to become a dust bowl requiring up to $140 million annually for dust mitigation, an expense that goes on forever. That plan destroys the sea in a way that makes any future attempt at recovery impossible.
Read Richard Speed’s plan to implement his vision from MyDesert.com by clicking here.
IID is still unhappy with Salton Sea Senate bill
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 27, 2008 at 8:12 am
From the Imperial Valley Press:
Questions continue to linger for Imperial Irrigation District board members about the language of a Senate bill involving the Salton Sea and whether the water transfer agreement is being breached. Senate Bill 187 cleared the state Senate last week and will distribute $47 million for the first phase of habitat restoration and studies on air and water quality at the Salton Sea.
But some IID board members said that without a spelled-out reference to the Salton Sea restoration’s ties to the 2003 Quantification Settlement Agreement, the state continues to circumvent its liability at the plagued inland sump that was once an oasis in the desert. “This is not substantive language,” said IID Legal Counsel Jeff Garber. “It doesn’t change anything.”
At a special meeting to discuss the issue Tuesday, the board reviewed the impact the change could have on the QSA — a 75-year agreement that transfers water from Imperial County to the coast. Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny, D-San Diego, who authored SB 187, said IID officials not only knew about the change but were part of the water districts that requested it.
The omissions make direct reference to the Salton Sea noting “restoration of the Salton Sea is an essential element of the Quantification Settlement Agreement.”
IID Director Mike Abatti said if the language is insignificant there should be no problem putting it back in. “I believe it was a key component of this bill,” he said.
What’s this all about? It’s a long story, but I’ll try to be brief: The QSA is an agreement between IID & MWD & San Diego CWA that the Imperial Valley farmers are going to conserve water and transfer the water they conserve to San Diego. For this, they will receive money to help with on-farm conservation, pay farmers for fallowing land, and some money for economic impacts as well.
The QSA agreement was necessary, because California was being ordered to live within its Colorado River apportionment, as the surpluses which California had been enjoying all these years were now coming to an end. The IID has water rights to 3 million acre-feet of water, more water than any state or entity on the Colorado River, with priority rights over Metropolitan Water District and San Diego County Water Authority.
Now, the Salton Sea is mostly sustained by agricultural flows, and if the farmers use less water, there is less agricultural drainage to sustain the sea. It’s going to dry up and create the same air quality mess that exists in the Owens Valley - the one DWP is spending millions of dollars every year to mitigate. And this is a big deal - air quality in the Imperial Valley is already bad, and if the sea dries up, there will be a lot of lawsuits, and most likely the federal government will step in and order some agency to do something, because it will be violating federal air quality standards.
It was a big sticking point in the QSA negotiations; who is going to deal with this, and the state finally stepped in and said the state would take responsibility for doing something about the Salton Sea. (So you see, folks, we are going to have to do something about the Salton Sea, like it or not … what that is will be the subject of future Aquafornia postings.)
The state has sort-of picked out a plan to restore the sea, but it’s very controversial, and also very expensive - $9 billion over 75 years. By the looks of things, there’s not a lot of legislative support for it, especially with the current budget deficit. The plan doesn’t have widespread support among the locals either, including the Salton Sea Restoration Agency, an agency created to develop a plan that saw that plan rejected in favor of another.
So that, in a nutshell, is why IID is concerned that the state has removed any statements confirming liability in this bill.
Read the rest of this story from the Imperial Valley Press by clicking here.
You can find out more by reading the Legislative Analyst Office’s report on the Salton Sea by clicking here.
The Salton Sea needs legislators’ attention now, editorial says
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 24, 2008 at 5:33 amFrom MyDesert.com, this editorial:
It’s great the federal government is seeking to pump $54 million into the preservation of Lake Tahoe, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein is fishing for another $1 billion for the lake California shares with Nevada. But all the hoopla surrounding Lake Tahoe makes us wonder when more money and a little attention is going to be paid toward the restoration of the Salton Sea.
This is a critical health and environmental issue for the Coachella Valley and beyond. But we are letting it fall by the wayside. We lack the type of leadership needed to save the sea and that is unacceptable.
Both Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Palm Springs, and Sen. Barbara Boxer, a Rancho Mirage Democrat, secured some federal funding to restore California’s largest lake. It is a federal match of $30 million that was hard fought for by Boxer and Bono Mack, but it remains unused because it’s tied to state spending on the sea. Sen. Denise Ducheny’s bill, that sets the ground rules for $47 million in previously approved bond funds for the Salton Sea, is awaiting the governor’s signature and that’s good.
But what about legislation that will create an oversight committee with local input and put the $9 billion restoration plan into motion? We can’t help but dwell on the fact that at the state level, significant and meaningful funding for the Salton Sea remains stalled in the Legislature. The state Legislature has not made the Salton Sea a priority.
Read more of this editorial from MyDesert.com by clicking here.
Salton Sea bill advances to governor’s desk; however, language in bill surprises IID; editorial says it’s a baby step, more action needed
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 20, 2008 at 6:32 am
From MyDesert.com:
The state Senate on Tuesday approved a bill to start restoring the dying Salton Sea. The bill now awaits approval from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has vowed not to sign any bills until the Legislature can approve a long overdue budget.
Senate Bill 187 by Sen. Denise Ducheny, D-San Diego, would establish the ground rules for spending $47 million in previously approved bond funds to aid the dying sea. ‘‘This is important for preservation of this valuable natural resource in California,” Ducheny, who also represents Cathedral City, told the Senate.
The bill previously was amended in a Senate committee to state that it doesn’t endorse the full $8.9 billion restoration plan developed by state and local representatives.
However, references to the QSA were left out of bill, surprising IID officials. From the Imperial Valley Press:
“How did we miss this?” IID Director Mike Abatti questioned. “We need to find out who we have working up there and whether they’re doing their job.”
Ducheny said the bill references the Fish and Game Code, which deals with the part of the QSA that calls for the restoration of the Salton Sea. “It is clear from the state’s perspective why we’re moving forward on this, because it’s necessary for the QSA,” Ducheny said.
One statement omitted included the words: “Restoration of the Salton Sea is an essential element of the Quantification Settlement Agreement.” Ducheny said those changes were requested by officials last year and were implemented once the bill began to move forward again this year.
“It is fair to say the IID board was caught completely flat-footed by the finished version of Sen. Ducheny’s bill,” IID spokesman Kevin Kelley said. He went on to say that the explicit references to the linkage of the QSA and the restoration of the Salton Sea are “important to IID and everyone who lives in the region.”
The state is legally on the hook to deal with the Salton Sea per the terms of the QSA.
An editorial from the Imperial Valley Press called it a good step, but a small step, emphasizing that things need to be moving quicker on the Salton Sea restoration efforts:
Legislators, unfortunately, have not been too quick to act on a plan to save the sea. They apparently do not understand the importance of it or simply don’t care.
We understand that the large price tag that comes with saving the sea can cause sticker shock. But doing nothing will be more costly. If the sea is allowed to become a full-blown environmental disaster, the costs will be much, much higher for the state and taxpayers. The lawsuits alone from farmers, nearby homeowners and people who live in the region will be excessively costly.
So although it is certainly the preference of many legislators, inaction is simply not an option. That is why this first step was important, but certainly it was just a baby step. Now the state must put a long-term plan into place and find a way to pay for it. We encourage Ducheny to continue this push and to keep this issue on the front burner.
Salton Sea restoration gets Senate approval
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 19, 2008 at 2:35 pmFrom MyDesert.com:
The Senate on Tuesday gave final legislative approval to a bill to help get the restoration work going at the Salton Sea.
Senate Bill 187 by Sen. Denise Ducheny, D-San Diego, would establish the ground rules for spending $47 million in previously-approved bond funds to aid the dying sea.
“This is important for preservation of this valuable natural rsource in California,” Ducheny told the Senate.
The bill previously was amended in a Senate committee to state that it doesn’t endorse the full $8.9 billion restoration plan developed by state and local representatives.
Read more from MyDesert.com by clicking here.
Salton Sea: ‘Blue gem’ showed promise
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 17, 2008 at 7:20 am
From the Imperial Valley Press:
Shirley Palmer decided to come through the mountains separating Imperial and San Diego counties on her way to visit her parents because it seemed the most direct route to their home in the Imperial Valley. As she got to the top of the mountains, she saw something she would distinctly remember 50 some years later. “I came up over the rise and couldn’t believe in the middle of the bare desert was this beautiful blue gem,” she said.
This blue gem that Palmer saw was the Salton Sea, the largest inland body of water in California.
The future of the Salton Sea is uncertain, but in the 1950s and ‘60s the Salton Sea area was well used by visitors. “You had visitors from all over the world — England, Australia, Japan, China, Russia,” Palmer said, a member of the West Shores Chamber of Commerce of the Salton Sea.
Movie stars also utilized the sea because it was a get-away where they could remain anonymous, said Palmer, a 54-year resident of the area.
The sea was used for fishing, boating, and water skiing in the 1950’s. Read the rest of this article that takes a look back at the history of the Salton Sea by clicking here.
Legislature takes first real step to save the Salton Sea
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 17, 2008 at 7:05 am
From the Imperial Valley Press:
It was expected to take another decade, but on a windy day a white dusty cloud can be seen around the Salton Sea.
The restoration of the Salton Sea is expected to take billions of dollars and decades. A bill passed by the assembly this week that will begin the initial phase of restoration is being called the first real step taken by the Legislature to save the sea.
State Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny, D-San Diego, authored SB 187 and said it represents the state taking action on its responsibility of the sea. “The state is saying we’re a partner in this. It’s the opportunity to start using the resources,” Ducheny said. “It’s getting a clear commitment from the Legislature.”
Introduced more than a year ago and co-authored by Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, R-Cathedral City, the bill cleared the Assembly Appropriations Committee last week. It will move to the Senate for approval and Ducheny said there should be no further holdups before it reaches the governor’s desk.
The bill calls for the first phase of the restoration plan, a five-year plan with $47 million worth of projects of early habitat creation and air, sediment and water quality studies. The funds were part of Proposition 84 that was approved by voters in 2006. A more long-term restoration plan has not been decided on and the Assembly made an amendment to SB 187 that states it does not endorse the preferred alternative restoration plan.
Gary Wyatt said though the bill’s progress is good news there’s still a tremendous amount of work to be done. “It is a beginning,” Wyatt, chairman of the Imperial County Board of Supervisors and member of the Salton Sea Authority, said. “This can be so important to give a signal to the federal side for them to be involved and fund some of the efforts.”
Read the rest of this story from the Imperial Valley Press by clicking here.
Salton Sea bill clears Assembly committee; would fund $47 million to begin restoration efforts
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 8, 2008 at 6:49 am
From the MyDesert.com:
An Assembly committee Thursday reversed course and passed a bill to help get the salvage operation going at the Salton Sea — but not necessarily completing it.
The Assembly Appropriations Committee approved Senate Bill 187 by Sen. Denise Ducheny, D-San Diego, that would set out the ground rules for spending $47 million in previously approved bond funds to aid the dying sea. But the bill was amended to make it clear that its approval doesn’t constitute endorsement of an $8.9 billion restoration plan developed by state and local representatives under the direction of Resources Secretary Mike Chrisman.
More on this story from MyDesert.com by clicking here.
From Riverside’s Press-Enterprise:
The bill, approved by the Assembly Appropriations Committee, is expected to be heard before the full Assembly next week.
The money would help test out a smaller version of the plan’s main objective to help wildlife. Some 300 to 400 acres of shallow ponds would be carved out in the sea, where fish could thrive and feed birds, said Dale Hoffman-Floerke, chief of the Colorado River and Salton Sea Office in the California Department of Water Resources.
The agency, she said, would also start looking at the specifics of building perhaps the project’s most costly feature, a barrier that would turn the sea into a 45,000-acre, horseshoe-shaped lake that would maintain a shoreline along the sea’s remote towns. “The large infrastructure that was proposed, that’s where you start using some real significant dollars,” Hoffman-Floerke said.
She said the state is about to acquire five stations to monitor air quality at the Salton Sea. As the lake shrinks, exposing the seabed, dust storms could create a pollution problem, and officials want to know how much of a problem it would be.
Read more from Riverside’s Press-Enterprise by clicking here.
From MyDesert.com:
She emphasized, however, that state officials need authorization for a long-term restoration plan to really get rolling on saving the sea. “Without the support of (the Resources Agency restoration plan), our hands are tied and we really can’t do anything beyond ecosystem restoration,” Hoffman-Floerke said.
Still, she said, state staff have been putting together monitoring plans to gather information for baseline data on air quality, lake bottom sediment, birds and fish.
To monitor air quality only, the state can tap a separate $133 million fund set up to offset impacts of the water transfer deal between the Imperial Irrigation District and San Diego, Hoffman-Floerke said. That money is for mitigation work at the sea and elsewhere, but it can’t be used for restoration.
State and local officials working on the sea also agreed that full restoration is going to require creation of a new governing agency. Wilson said that once such an agency is in place, then he wants it to consider the local community’s alternative restoration plan that includes more economic development.
“Those of us with the Salton Sea Authority aren’t convinced the (Resources Agency plan) is the best plan,” Wilson said. “We think we have a less expensive plan.”
Read more from this article from MyDesert.com by clicking here.
Will there be a wave of the future for the Salton Sea? Senator Ducheney gives an update
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 26, 2008 at 9:46 amSenator Denise Moreno Ducheney gives an update on the Salton Sea in this article in the Desert Sun:
Restoration efforts for the Salton Sea, while slow in developing, are continuing to move forward. I am still committed, more than ever, to passing state legislation to continue the restoration on the sea and provide a framework and pathway to a healthier Salton Sea and its surrounding communities.
There have been recent articles on the issue of the Salton Sea and I wanted to take this opportunity to update you on the status of my efforts.
After the Quantification Settlement Agreement was signed in late 2003, the state took responsibility for the sea and began the process of developing a preferred alternative through a Programmatic Environmental Impact Report.
In May 2007, California Secretary of Resources Michael Chrisman announced the results of the environmental study and I was happy to put that framework into Senate Bill 187. SB 187 made it through the Senate and over to the Assembly, but it stalled in the Assembly Appropriations Committee and remains there today. I have every intention of trying to get SB 187 signed into law this year.
While the legislative agenda stalled last year, I still wanted to ensure that our efforts at the sea continued. In last year’s budget, I was able to secure funding to allow the Department of Water Resources and the Department of Fish and Game to begin early monitoring and assessment. This was vital in allowing the departments to assess and begin prioritizing projects related to habitat restoration and air quality.
Find out the status of early restoration efforts and Senator Ducheney’s attempts to educate lawmakers in the rest of this article from the Desert Sun by clicking here.
The Salton Sea: Canals are a solution
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 22, 2008 at 5:14 pmFrom MyDesert.com:
Most people with an interest in the Salton Sea and who remember what it was like in the 1950s and ’60s would like to see it truly restored to what it used to be, a major fishing and water recreational area attracting more visitors than Yosemite.
An engineering firm, CRM Inc., did a study and put forth a proposal in 2005 to truly restore the sea to its former beauty with clean water and a stable shoreline.
This would be accomplished by a canal from the Gulf of Mexico to bring clean ocean water to the sea and another canal to remove more salty water to the gulf. The CRM proposal is explained in detail in a posting on mydesert.com. I urge interested readers to read the proposal and, if you find it plausible and preferable to other proposals, contact your legislators to urge them to give it consideration.
A clean Salton Sea with a stable shoreline would be a tremendous asset that would benefit residents and property owners in the area as well as the fish and birds.
I tried to search MyDesert.com to read the posting he mentions above, but couldn’t find it. However, plenty of Salton Sea canals & pipelines in the Aquafornia Salton Sea archives (click here). And of course, let’s not forget the Salton Sea Channel plan.
Read the full text of this article from MyDesert.com, click here.
Five questions for Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny about what’s next for the Salton Sea
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 20, 2008 at 6:21 amFrom MyDesert.com:
A conversation with Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny about what’s next for the Salton Sea.
Senate Bill 1256, which would would have created an oversight committee, is dead, and another, SB 187, to allocate funding to restore the sea, is stalled. What should happen now?
The funding is in the budget. Activities on restoration will continue. It would be beneficial to get SB 187 passed out of the Legislature this year so that more direction is provided with a framework for the beginning activities for restoration. It provides an important framework for early-start activities and provides legislative direction to the administration to start those no regrets necessary early implementation projects. Finally, it provides a stronger signal to the federal government and local governments as well that the state is moving forward on the restoration project.
Read more from MyDesert.com by clicking here.
Salton Sea’s salvation rests on stalled funding appropriation
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 10, 2008 at 5:42 amFrom MyDesert.com, this editorial:
Unfortunately, the state Legislature has not made the Salton Sea a priority. It must be a priority because it’s shrinking and in danger of becoming a dust bowl that will release harmful toxins into the air. The bill, along with scores of other measures, did not pass out of the Senate Appropriations Committee late last month because the bills were projected to add new costs at a time when the state is experiencing a budget crisis.
While we agree that the state should be prudent, especially with ongoing operation expenses, voters have set aside money by voting for this funding measure. The voters already approved funds in the budget, federal money to match it is waiting in the wings, and we shouldn’t allow the Legislature to stifle voters’ wishes. “It is irresponsible not to allocate money the voters approved,” said Rick Daniels, former executive director of the Salton Sea Authority.
Voters approved $46 million in 2006 to restore the Salton Sea, California’s largest lake, because the water salinity is increasing and the sea is shrinking. It will recede considerably by 2018, when water transfers will halt agricultural runoff for the most part.
But two years have passed and nothing is being done. Of that money, about $10.3 million is in the proposed 2008-09 budget, earmarked for early restoration work. That money can be spent without the bill and it should, but what about the other $38 million? The state legislature is stalled in making the needed appropriations and a federal match of $30 million that was hard fought for by Sen. Barbara Boxer, who is a Rancho Mirage resident, and Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Palm Springs, remains unused.
Part of the problem is that it will take millions to restore the Salton Sea. Experts also point to the fact that the lake is far away from more populated areas that seem to get more immediate attention. But this area is important to the state. Negative impact from the dying Salton Sea will not only harm wildlife and our health, but it will hurt the statewide economy when tourists stop visiting.
SB 1256, which would have created a new agency that included local control to oversee the restoration, never even came up for a vote. It was just allowed to die because the state is about $17 billion in the red.
We understand that every dollar not spent goes to help show a balanced budget, but the voters approved a funding measure and the sea is dying now. Something has to be done soon, or we face devastation from the sea’s environmental and economic impacts.
Read the full text of this editorial from MyDesert.com by clicking here.
Salton Sea: We will pay, one way or another, says editorial
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 5, 2008 at 7:39 am
From the Imperial Valley Press Online. this editorial:
The time for the state of California to act on the Salton Sea was yesterday … or thousands of yesterdays ago. That it may be thousands of tomorrows before the state does anything about the Salton Sea’s environmental problems is more than discouraging for Imperial County residents. It is distressing … and dangerous.
With water levels dropping and saline and pollutants ever increasing in the Salton Sea, toxic dust storms from the seashore soon may be less threat and more reality. Something needs to be done about this mess by some bigger, richer and more powerful entity than those in Riverside and Imperial counties, but it is appearing the state’s financial problems may keep it from doing much in the foreseeable future.
Budget problems are at the forefront of legislator’s minds, and so far, there has been difficulty getting legislation passed to begin restoration efforts. But the editorial warns that inaction could be more costly than restoration:
… we are convinced the state, even in these cash-strapped times, should make Salton Sea solutions a priority. Researchers are not certain what the effects will be on humans and crops from toxic dust storms, but they are not exactly optimistic.
We can’t wait for the state’s budget woes to be fixed. This problem is simply too severe to leave on the back burner in Sacramento. It requires immediate legislative action before the lawyers line up to take costly legal action.
We believe it is much smarter to pay a lot now than to pay a lot more later.
Read the full text of this editorial from the Imperial Valley Press by clicking here.
Salton Sea air still up in air; there is concern for air quality in the region as the shoreline recedes
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 28, 2008 at 6:33 am
From the Imperial Valley Press:
The future restoration of the Salton Sea is a $9 billion question mark in the hands of the state. Last week a bill that would have established the governance for the Salton Sea Restoration Council died on the state Senate floor for lack of a vote.
The Imperial Irrigation District Board of Directors heard from an environmental attorney Tuesday on the implications of air-quality issues along the receding shoreline.
Ellen Spellman, whose firm is contracted by the district to oversee the 2003 Quantification Settlement Agreement legalities, spoke about liability, emissions and restoration. Spellman said environmental studies have shown the exposure of the shoreline is inevitable but predicting what kind of emissions will be mixed into the air is unknown. “This is an area of great uncertainty,” Spellman said.
Air quality in the Imperial County already has difficulty meeting state and federal standards, and the eventual shrinking of the Salton Sea is only bound to make things worse:
An estimated 45,000 acres will be exposed in the next 70 years due to the transfer of water and the diminishing inflows to the sea. Determining who is legally liable for the emissions, Spellman told the board, will depend on why the shoreline receded. “IID is responsible for mitigating air quality impacts from shoreline exposed by the transfer,” Spellman said.
Read the full text of this story from the Imperial Valley Press by clicking here.
California desalination effort info release: Sea of Cortez to the Salton Sea channel
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 25, 2008 at 7:22 amPlease, folks, take this with a grain of salt. No, on second thought, grab the whole salt shaker…. From Helium.com:
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
To be placed in all California Newspapers as an informational news releaseAnnouncing the release of information on a US & Mexico joint effort project known as the Sea of Cortez to the Salton Sea Desalination Channel
Let me point out that this “press release” is posted on Helium.com and not from the State of California. So what is this ‘channel’?
The Channel is a proposed project, a large canal actually, proposed to be built from the Sea of Cortez, Mexico, to, and as far north as, Palm Springs, California. Though, proposals vary, on its width, from between one to two miles wide, it will be deep enough for the largest of ships to travel. It is called a channel, instead of a canal, because that is the legal definition for such a project. On the United States side, it will run from the United States/Mexico border, just west of Calexico, northerly to Palm Desert, CA; 115 miles through Imperial County and, at least, 66 miles through Riverside County and, further if it goes to Palm Springs, CA. Upon the commitments of former President Fox and current President Lopez of Mexico, and Governor Eugenio Elorduy of the State of Baja, Mexico, the proponents, the National Outdoor Recreation Council (NORC), correctly assumed that there will be built, concurrently, a matching Mexican channel from the Gulf of California to the United States/Mexico border.
Okay…. a shipping channel from the Sea of Cortez to Palm Springs. An earlier post by the same person months ago talked of cruise ships docking in Indio and heading towards Indian casinos, along with a port 2 miles wide in El Centro…. This ‘press release’ continues, and tells of how the Clinton administration dissed the channel, but not Governor Schwarzenegger:
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was first made aware of NORC’s Channel Proposal by DR. Abe Beagles on August 18, 2005. Dr. Beagles and a team of six international scientists had done an extensive reclamation study to see if either Electro-coagulation or the Plasma Incubator Reactor System, a revolutionary desalination process, could restore the Salton Sea.The report was then delivered to the Governor in 2003. Shortly after his personal examination and meetings with key individuals, throughout the United States and Mexico, he soon became convinced of both its validity and its potential but, was forewarned by the California Legislature against releasing it to the public until further, more thorough, examination by them. He acquiesced to their experienced judgment, in part. Indirectly, though, on January 5, 2006, he released, the Channel’s income potential, and some other aspects, in his State of the State address.
Hmmm… Schwarzenegger talking about the channel in his 2006 State of the State address? I guess me, you, and the entire media industry must have somehow missed that….
Throughout the following two years, the Governor only hinted, in public, about the forthcoming green technologies but, it wasn’t until his most recent State of the State address, on January 8, 2008, that he began to unveil the Channel. Therein, he revealed the need to re-build (to modernize) California’s antiquated water production and distribution system.
Ha! And you & I thought the Guv was only talking about a couple of new dams, but really he’s talking about the Salton Sea channel with the “Plasma Incubator Reaction System”! Talk about bait and switch…. So now, says this post, they need to set up “Harbor Improvement Districts” in Riverside, Imperial & San Diego counties, but they need public support for this:
Private Donations are Required to Form the Harbor Improvement Districts
NORC plans to process the Petitions to Form the Harbor Improvement Districts that are necessary, by law, to govern the construction and management of the Channel. They do not, however, have the funding to complete this monumental task, at present. As such, they will require significant (tax exempt) donations to perform this great task. Please support the Channel, and the development of its green technologies, by sending your donations directly to NORC.
And there’s even an address you can send your money to! (But first, send some to me, okay?)
And now, let’s talk benefits: 30 million acre-feet of per year of desalinated water; electricity produced and sold to the Harbor Improvement Districts for only 1 cent per kilowatt hour; but wait! there’s more!
At maximum build out, the Channel is estimated, by NORC, to generate, approximately, $92.12 trillion dollars per year, net profit, in private income from the sales of water, hydrogen, electricity, development, precious metals retrieval, and the manufacture of new automobiles. That’s correct, hydrogen will be sold, as well. This is because hydrogen is a by-product of the desalination method Dr. Beagles proposes. Not only can the Channel produce as much as 300 million acre feet, per year, of desalinated water but, it can also produce 4 million acre feet, per year, of compressed hydrogen. This is more than 20 times that needed to fuel all the passenger vehicles expected to be on the road in California in 2020; that is, if they are all hydrogen powered vehicles, of course. Though, there are expected to be a number of other profitable sources, NORC only estimated these. At a simple one (1) percent tax, this would mean, a maximum yearly expected revenue of $1.24 trillion dollars per year. Even at 10 percent of maximum build out, the Channel is expected to generate additional revenue, for the State of California, the affected Counties, and the United States, of $92.4 billion dollars per year.
92 trillion dollars per year in private income, and 92.4 billion in revenue for the government?! Bye bye budget deficit!!! And by the way, didn’t he say 30 million acre-feet of desalinated water earlier? and now it’s 300 acre-feet? Ahh, but who cares, we’ll all be rolling in the trillions of dollars anyway, while driving our hydrogen powered cars to board cruise ships in Palm Springs.
But what about the environmentalists? Rejoice, tree huggers everywhere! The channel will reduce environmental impacts to insignificant!
In accordance with the vast body of environmental law, today, any new water production and distribution system would have to be designed, in such a way, as to reduce environmental impacts to insignificance. Prior to the Channel, this was considered an impossible task. The Channel exceeds these expectations. It will not only maintain environmental impacts below threshold but, it will allow for the restoration of the many significant negative environmental impacts that the prior existing water production and distribution system caused. It is an environmentalists dream come true.
Yeah, right…. Earlier versions of this post mentioned removing every single dam in the Western United States, because the Salton Sea channel would provide enough water for all. Of course they didn’t give any details on how they would distribute that water to everyone….
Coming next week, Aqua Blog Maven will unveil a enormous investment opportunity to solve world hunger while eliminating global warming and unwanted facial hair!
You can read the full text of this ‘press release’ by clicking here.
State Senate kills Salton Sea recovery bill; officials grumble at lack of action on restoration efforts
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 24, 2008 at 8:50 am
From the Imperial Valley Press:
The plagued Salton Sea restoration process may be dying a slow death of its own as state senators killed a bill that would have established an oversight authority for the sea’s revival.
Senate Bill 1256 was in the appropriations committee and may have fallen victim to the state’s continuing budget crisis, Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny said Friday. “It’s really about the budget more than anything else,” Ducheny, D-San Diego, said. “Unfortunately I think the perception was that ours cost a little too much at this time,” she said.
The bill would have established the Salton Sea Restoration Council, a 14 voting-member committee to oversee the restoration of the sea.
Yes, unfortunately, we aren’t talking the restoration plan - estimated to cost nearly $9 billion dollars, but only establishing the governance structure to administer the restoration plan. However, in spite of the budget deficit, there is a some money already approved to begin restoration work (if my feeble mind serves me correctly, it is $47 million?). However, officials expressed their frustration at the continued lack of progress:
Imperial County Supervisor Larry Grogan said the state has received the benefit of Imperial County water and has not paid its promised price. “Now you’ve got to know how the state feels about the Salton Sea. They’ve got the water now and they’ll let it go to hell,” Grogan, who sits on the Salton Sea Authority, said.
As part of the 2003 Quantification Settlement Agreement, the state agreed to mitigate the impacts of the shrinking sea over $133 million if IID transferred water to the coast. With less agricultural water draining into the sea the shoreline will recede, exposing an environmentally damaging salt playa that could be a detriment to surrounding agriculture and air quality in the Valley, officials have said.
“The Salton Sea cannot wait indefinitely. The clock is ticking,” IID spokesman Kevin Kelley said.
IID Director Stella Mendoza, who also sits on the SSA, said “doing nothing is not an option.”
Read the rest of this article from the Imperial Valley Press by clicking here.
Salton Sea plan killed in Senate; bill never brought to vote; drive for restoration stalls
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 23, 2008 at 6:32 amFrom MyDesert.com:
State senators Thursday killed a bill to set up a new agency to oversee the dying Salton Sea’s restoration.
Senate Bill 1256 never came up for a vote in the Senate Appropriations Committee, which held the bill, as well as scores of other measures that were projected to add new costs at a time when the state budget is about $15 billion short. The committee staff had estimated the sea bill by Sen. Denise Ducheny, D-San Diego, could cost more than $800,000 a year to operate, though the staff analysis also acknowledged that many of the potential costs of the new agency were unknown.
“It stalls it big time,” Riverside County Supervisor Roy Wilson said of the restoration plan.
Peter Nelson, chair of the Salton Sea Authority board, agreed the committee’s inaction set back the project but acknowledged the budget is a major obstacle this year. “Any project in California that is going to spend money in this coming budgetary year is going to have a hard time getting traction,” Nelson said.
Still, the delay only makes the recovery work more difficult, he said of the sea whose drying lakebed will likely create air quality issues in the Coachella and Imperial valleys in the near future. “The tragedy for the sea is that every year that goes by, it will become more and more difficult to have a reasonable restoration plan move forward,” Nelson said.
Ducheney has said she might try another run at SB 187, the Salton Sea restoration bill, and is exploring her options on reviving this bill. She concedes it’s going to be a difficult sell this year.
Nelson emphasized the state is legally responsible to address air and water quality issues and said failure to meet those obligations will damage not only the environment but the health and economic viability of the region. But he added the sea is just one of the state’s stalled water projects that also include shoring the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, which is the switching station for the water serving 25 million Californians. “If you can’t get the Delta issue solved, how can we get the Salton Sea solved?” Nelson asked.
Read the full text of this story from MyDesert.com by clicking here.
State Senate Appropriations Committee to consider bill for Salton Sea restoration
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 6, 2008 at 5:30 amFrom the Imperial Valley Press:
The Senate Appropriations Committee will hear a Senate bill that could be one of the critical components of the Salton Sea restoration. Authored by Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny, D-San Diego, Senate Bill 1256 would establish the Salton Sea Restoration Council to oversee the project and issues regarding the sea.
The Salton Sea, plagued by environmental issues and shrinking due to a lessened supply of agricultural runoff due to water transfers, is lacking in direction of how and who is going to pay for its salvage.
The Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to take up SB 1256 on Monday. Ducheny could not be reached for comment Monday.
As it stands, the bill would establish a state agency to head the restoration and make other decisions pertaining to the sea.
Read more on this story from the Imperial Valley Press by clicking here.
Imperial Irrigation District gets a little water credited towards last year’s overuse; also gives $25k to the Salton Sea Authority
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 23, 2008 at 6:32 amFirst, the Salton Sea. From the Imperial Valley Press Online:
Being a part of the conversation of what happens to the Salton Sea is worth another $25,000 to the Imperial Irrigation District board. The board voted 3-2 Tuesday to give additional money to the Salton Sea Authority, an agency some say is failing.
Directors Mike Abatti and John Pierre Menvielle voted against the money that is adding to the $75,000 already given to the SSA this year by IID. “I don’t think it’s responsible to continue funding something without a position (on the sea),” Abatti said.
The IID board has not taken a position on the restoration plans for the Salton Sea and is awaiting the environmental impact report.
But a majority of the board including Director James Hanks, who voted to give more money to the SSA, said the IID needs to take a stand. “There are huge questions about air mitigation and who’s responsible for that,” Hanks said. “It’s time to give clear direction to this board. If we don’t have a voice on the Salton Sea Authority, what voice would we have?”
Read the full text of this story from the Imperial Valley Press Online by clicking here.
From KXO Radio, news that the IID has been credited with 4000 acre-feet of water against the 17,000 acre-feet that the IID overused last year:
King told the IID Board of Directors Tuesday he had requested the Bureau Of Reclamation allow the IID to be credited with the unused apportionment of Metropolitan Water District and Nevada 2005 entitlement. He said since the IID was the only District to request the unused apportionments, the Bureau agreed, but said they had to split the Nevada apportionment with the state of Arizona. King said that means the IID was given 4,000 acre-feet of water to be used in the payback of last years over-run.
That means only 13,000 acre-feet to go. Full text from KXO by clicking here.
I wonder what the “unused apportionment of Metropolitan Water District” water is. With MWD buying ag water and saying that even with conservation, they will be reaching into their reserves this year, how can there be any “unused apportionment”?