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Interior Secretary Ken Salazar takes comments from local officials about restoration of the Salton Sea on Friday afternoon at Red Hill Marina at the Salton Sea. (FERNANDO ACOSTA JR. PHOTO / December 15, 2012) |
CALIPATRIA — What some described as historic may finally be happening: momentum in Washington toward restoration of the Salton Sea may be building. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has pledged to work with local agencies to help restore the troubled body of water.
“I just pledge to all of you on behalf of President Obama and his administration the full support for moving forward and finding real solutions to the challenges that we face,” Salazar announced Friday while visiting the Salton Sea.
Salazar visited the sea less than a month after U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., discussed with him the socioeconomic and public health ramifications if the sea continues to recede. He came to see firsthand the environmental damage of the sea and to discuss restoration with local officials and stakeholders. He joined Boxer, Rep.-elect Raul Ruiz, D-Coachella, and state Assemblyman V. Manuel Pérez, D-Coachella, on a tour of the wildlife habitat.
Bruce Wilcox, environmental program manager for the Imperial Irrigation District, briefed Salazar on the complex interplay of issues that impact the Salton Sea as well as possible solutions.
“The sea is receding rapidly,” Wilcox said. “Irrigation water is what feeds the Salton Sea. … We fight a declining inflow to the sea, and then we’re fighting a dust issue as the sea declines.”
Wilcox described geothermal energy initiatives as a partial solution to Salton Sea, and added that local agencies have plans to repair the sea, if only resources were available.
“We have … all the agencies working together to make a difference,” he said. “We certainly appreciate the help we got from the federal government. If we could get some more it would make a big difference.”
He stressed that coordination of the myriad projects should remain with local agencies.
“We’re at a point now where we’ve got the Salton Sea Authority in a position where they can take over as sort of the local lead agency to help coordinate all these different funding opportunities and all these different projects.”
“We get it — that’s why we invited the secretary here,” Boxer said. “I think they’re ready to help.”
Salazar capped off his visit with a discussion with stakeholders about their concerns.
Ruiz talked about the combination of poverty and poor public health that afflict the area, of children who live in trailers and suffer from asthma, conditions that will only get worse as the sea continues to degrade.
Others said control needs to stay local.
“Governance is the key,” said Riverside County Supervisor John Benoit, stressing the need for leadership on Salton Sea initiatives to remain local.
“We have a plan. We live with this problem (Salton Sea) all the time. We can solve this problem together.”
Pérez threw his support behind the Salton Sea Authority.
“Who, at the end of the day, is really going to govern? I’m going to advocate that it needs to stay local. It needs to be, in my opinion, the Salton Sea Authority,” he said.
Ultimately, Pérez said, something needs to be done.
“Not doing anything is not an option,” he said, describing the sea as a looming environmental and public health Armageddon.
Ultimately, Salazar said, his mission Friday was to learn about the challenges the sea faces before he goes back to Washington.
“We will go back and shake every tree,” he said. “Once you see successes you will make believers of skeptics.”
Imperial County Supervisor John Renison told the Imperial Valley Press that Salazar has invited a delegation from the Salton Sea Authority to Washington to meet with members of his office.
“I think it’s a watershed moment,” he said. “We got more done today than in the last 10 years.”
Staff Writer Antoine Abou-Diwan can be reached at 760-337-3454 or aabou-diwan@ivpressonline.com
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