HomeMy WebLinkAbout3/9/2005 - STAFF REPORTS MAR 2 2 2005 C
�ECC,v�p
ERRATUM `fi C��r;:, '
TO THE
i NOTICE OF PREPARATION
OF
A PROGRAMMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR THE RESTORATION
OF THE SALTON SEA ECOSYSTEM AND PRESERVATION OF ITS FISH AND
WILDLIFE RESOURCES
Notice is hereby provided clarifying the lead agency designation for preparation of the
Programmatic Environmental Impact Report (PEIR)for the Restoration of the Salton Sea
Ecosystem and Preservation of its Fish and Wildlife Resources. The California Resources
Agency is the lead agency responsible for complying with provision of the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for preparation of the PEIR.
The NOP of February 27, 2004 identified the California Department of Water Resources
and the California Department of Fish and Game as the co-lead agencies for conducting
this environmental review. While DWR and DFG will continue to share the obligation for
preparing the environmental document for the Salton Sea Ecosystem Management Plan on
behalf of the Resources Agency, the Resources Agency is and will continue to-be the lead
agency for purposes of this environmental review.
As part of the environmental review process, DWR and DFG are continuing to accept
comments regarding the scope and content of the PEIR. Written comments should be
directed to:
Charles Keene
Department of Water Resources
770 Fairmont Avenue, Suite 102
Glendale, California 91203
The NOP is hereby amended to reflect this clarification.
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Rivals pitching their plans for future of the Salton Sea I The San Diego Union-Tribune Page I of 4
SignOgM.cQ .Co'tri CCL PRINTTHIS
Rivals pitching their plans for future of the Salton Sea
By Michael Gardner
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
March 9,2005
SALTON CITY—The gasping Salton Sea is awash in dreams and
schemes.
A power struggle to command the restoration process and take =
control of development along the shores of this salty sump-tumed-
wildlife—haven has consumed the Imperial Valley, attracted the
attention of New York bond markets, and produced a head-
shaking alliance involving one of the state Capitol's legendary
figures, former Assembly Speaker Willie Brown.
PE PEATTIE/ Union-Trlbu ne
The prospect of reviving the Salton Sea has
Visions of a second Palm Springs have sparked a land rush. created a real estate bubble enveloping
Promoters of competing restoration plans clash in coffee shops much of the lake.
and council chambers. Water barons prowl in search of new
supplies, and a shoreline Indian casino is in the mix, or so some Partin-_the sea
claim.
The campaign to secure state and federal acceptance of ambitious, competing plans to reinvent the sea is
intensifying as the Schwarzeaegger administration chews over costs and consequences. Each alternative
could scale the S1 billion mark.
While the state is not expected to divulge its path until the end of 2006, state Sen. Denise Ducheny, D-
San Diego, has introduced conceptual legislation to chart the region's future as much as the sea's rebirth.
The Salton is a sea of contradictions. It's a vast lake in the desert, nourished and poisoned by fame runoff
water,both morgue and nursery for rare migratory waterfowl. Its salty bounty is undrinkable, yet it plays
an instrumental role in San Diego's water supply.
Two years ago, the Salton Sea was a nagging loose end
in a complex, seven-state pact to share the Colorado
River and clear the way for the San Diego County
Water Authodly to buy enough water from Imperial
Valley farmers to serve 400,000 households a year.
Negotiators eventually became unstuck when the
Imperial Irrigation District agreed to refill the sea
through 2017.
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Left unsettled, however, is who would be in charge of 6--3/O 9 z 0�
the restoration project of dikes and wetlands, and a
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Rivals pitching their plans for future of the Salton Sea The Sara Diego Union-Tribune Page 2 of 4
potential $300 million budget to dilute salinity, control
unhealthy selenium levels and limit dust pollution.
And, who would police growth if a revitalized sea
attracts new homes and hotels?
u'
Rivals are pitching their plans in Coachella, Calexico
and the state Capitol.
The Salton Sea Authority, a consortium of local
government agencies and the Torres-Martinez Indian
tribe, wants to pay for its restoration plan by tapping
the $300 million state account and raisin.- an additional PEGGv Pear tE/Union-Tribune
$500 million from investors attracted to the During the 1950s and early 1960s, the Salton Sea was a
development potential. popular retreat far B-list celebrities, sunbathers, golfers
and anglers. But the sea faded as a top tourist destination
after a rash of bird deaths and rising salinity, levels.
"We intend to play hardball on a major-league level,"
said Gary Wyatt, an Imperial County supervisor and chairman of the Salton Sea Authority.
And their ace is none other than former Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, the flamboyant San Francisco
liberal. The authority will invest S 10,000 a month on Brown, a lawyer who can tap a wealth of
connections in the political world and financial markets.
"He knows how to get things done," Wyatt said.
Wyatt and Ron Enzweiler, the authority's executive director, are unlikely traveling salesmen as they
make the rounds from city council chambers to Capitol corridors, Wyatt is from the small town of
Brawley and spent years as a civilian expert on crime prevention with the Imperial County Sheriffs
Department. Enzweiler is Harvard-educated with an engineering degree from the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology.
They and others want to revive the sea of the booming 1950s and
early 1960s, when it was a popular retreat for B-list celebrities, r'?t
sunbathers, golfers and anglers. But the sea faded as a top tourist
destination after a rash of bird deaths and rising salinity levels.
riY.
II 9
The Salton Sea Authority's plan is not uncontested. The Imperial
Group, made up mostly of fanners, has come up with its own plan
out of fear that Riverside County would hog development and the 1
money it brings in. The sea straddles Imperial and Riverside
counties, leading to cross-border jealously and animosity.
"We're tired of puttin.- up the water and money for other people's
economic well-bein.-," farmer Ronnie Leimgruber said.
The group's proposal intends to spread development and share the
faits of an economic boom throughout the lake and county, said
Heidi Kuhn, whose family runs cattle and makes cheese.
"We want a tluiving tax base, too," Kuhn said, "to protect the PEGGY PEAT71E/ unlon•Tribune
an
economic opportunities that o with the sea and the water." American Avocets foraged for Food In Be
1�P g evaporating pool of water at Bombay Beach
on the shore of the Salton Sea, which Is
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Rivals pitching their plans for future of the Salton Sea I The San Diego Union-Tribune Page 3 of 4
If flashy resorts and high-end residences sprout, farmers could be one of the few remaining wetlands for
bullied into giving up more water to protect the precious shoreline migrating birds.
and views of monied interests, she said.
"Guess who wins when it's multimillion-dollar gated communities versus Imperial Valley farmers?"
Kuhn asked rhetorically.
Her characterization of a wealthy lakeside mecca might not be far-fetched, even though some have
described the sea as a smelly stoup dotted with dead birds.
Wyatt and Enzweiler's pitch suggests that New York bond traders are tempted to underwrite restoration
costs in return for a big payday from developers.
Speculators also are hungry for land. A recent auction due to tax default of empty lots measuring 8,000
to 10,000 square feet drew bids as high as $14,000.
"There was a time when I couldn't get 150 bucks for those lots," said Donna Yarnell, a 42-year veteran
of Imperial's treasurer-tax collector's office. "It's astounding."
The real estate bubble has enveloped much of the lake. Nearly a half century ago, a Salton City
developer abandoned the town, leaving behind roads and utilities but few houses.
Today, those empty lots recently valued at $2,500 to $3,000 have doubled in price on the open market.
"If you're looking for a bargain, you're not going to get it," said county assessor Jose Rodriguez, who has
been a resident since the early 1960s.
Imperial County Supervisor Larry Grogan, a skeptic who described the various development plans as
"hype," said his advice to landowners is "take the money and run."
Water is king of the desert. And here, charges are plying over what could happen to leftover supplies
once the sea is reborn.
The giant Metropolitan Water District has filed claims for water on the New and Alamo rivers, which
both carry used irrigation water to the Salton Sea. An early state prognosis suggests that in the worst
circumstances, such as drought, the sea may receive only 500,000 acre-,feet a year, less than half of what
it takes in now.
Metropolitan and the state deny there's any covert bid to create a new pool of water. "Before people run
off and argue over the water, let the process unfold," Metropolitan's Dennis Underwood said.
Still, Underwood doesn't deny that Metropolitan would like to tap the region —if the final compromise
allows it.
"This (more water) is not the goal at the end of the rainbow," he said. "This is one resource."
Supporters of the Imperial Group and Salton Sea Authority proposal also have accused each other of
wanting to profit from the water.
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Rivals pitching their plans for future of the Salton Sea I The San Diego Union-Tribune Page 4 of 4
And there is skepticism over whether the federal government, which owns vast tracts nearby, has any
interest in saving the sea at all.
"The federal government's plan is to let the sea die and then say it's dead and we can't fix it. That's
unacceptable. We can't allow that," Wyatt said.
John Keys, commissioner of the federal Bureau of Reclamation, said decisions must wait until after the
environmental studies are in-
"We're working with the state and the authority to see what can be done and should be done out there,"
Keys said.
California's resources secretary, Mike Chrisman, said the state isn't planning to act unilaterally.
"We aren't suggesting for a minute that we want to ram anything down anyone's throat," he said.
On top of these concerns, skeptics also wonder whetber potential projects can,withstand earthquakes and
whether local taxpayers will be handed a bill if the plan flops since Riverside and Imperial counties are
part of the Salton Sea Authority.
These divisions are expected to fester into and beyond 2007,when the state unveils its final restoration
plan.
"If this project were easy and simple, it would have been done a long time ago," said Jeanine Jones,the
state's lead on the project.
But the sews residents are itchy for progress.
"They started studying the sea at the same time they started going into space,"homeowner Conrye Farris
said- "We're on the moon. What have we done here?"
»Next Story>>
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Hi-t •// ' -c- - � - -° ttl is rli•l ahilit+, r nn/nt/r t7 tirn -nt°tit1 ni+ al itrhin O1A Ion/7(1(15
March , 2005
The Honorable Denise Moreno Ducheny
California State Senator, District 40
State Capitol, Room 4081
Sacramento, CA 95814
Re: SB 1081; Salton Sea Local Control Act
Dear Senator Ducheny,
1 am writing to express my strong support for the Salton Sea Local Control Act(SB 1081)
in the form proposed by the Salton Sea Authority. l also wish to impress on you the
importance of local control in the design,permitting, financing and construction of the
restoration project following completion of the state's current study in December 2006.
From the local perspective, a successful Salton Sea restoration project nxust integrate land
use planning in the area around the sea with a long-term water management plan and
preservation of the sea as an ecological ireasure. Since land use planning and in-basin
water management are local matters controlled by member agencies of the Salton Sea
Authority, it is imperative that implementation responsibility for the overall project be
given to the Authority upon completion of the state's study in December 2006. The
Authority's proposed language for SB 1081 will allow for this integration and assignment
responsibility to the Authority which together will enable implementation to commence
immediately in 2007 as a locally financed and managed endeavor.
The key to the Authority's implementation plan is its ability to sell$500 million in tax-
allocation bonds using the authorization granted by the legislature in 1999 to form an
Infrastructure Financing District (7TD). We understand that an economic study
performed in 2003 projected $20 billion in new investment within the 1FD over a 30-year
build-out period once the restoration project is underway. Given the 5%to 7% growth
rate the eastern Coachella Valley has experienced in recent years and the enhanced
development and recreational opportunities that a healthy Salton Sea will create, the
projection of$20 billion in new investment is highly conservative and easily achievable.
Contrarily,without a restored Salton Sea, economic development in the eastern end of
our valley will be adversely impacted and odor problems may depress existing property
values. We rather trust our local elected officials to solve these problems using local
funds rather than relying on state officials beset by budgets problems, competing
interests, and political pressures to transfer more water out of the Salton Sea basin.
I encourage you to support the Salton Sea Authority's proposed language for SB 1081 so
that a locally preferred, multi-purpose restoration project can be commenced in 2007 by
the Authority as a public/private partnership. Please contact me directly if you have any
questions regarding this issue. Thank you for your leadership and support.
Sincerely,
Name:
Address: `r -L-t-t
02 f 0'7 ftCc.S,