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Rep. Ruiz introduces Salton Sea bill in Congress to provide funding, increase air quality requirements

November 19, 2020

Southern California Democrats Rep. Raul Ruiz and Rep. Juan Vargas introduced a new bill on Thursday that would force the federal government to take a more active role in funding and managing Salton Sea habitat restoration and dust suppression.

HR 8775, the Salton Sea Public Health and Environmental Protection Act, would create an interagency working group called the Salton Sea Management Council to coordinate projects around the lake's receding shoreline. If passed, the bill would also commission a public health study, increase air quality monitoring requirements and pull an undisclosed amount of federal funding to try to match acreage of the projects led by the state, among other things.

"My bill will bring significant federal funding, streamline coordination, expedite projects, and ensure agencies follow through with their commitment to the Sea and my constituents," Ruiz said in a statement announcing HR 8775. He labeled the bill "an all-hands-on-deck approach."

Designated as an agricultural sump in the 1920s, the lake became a dumping ground for agricultural runoff full of pesticides and fertilizers, and its receding shorelines expose this dangerous concoction in the dry lakebed known as playa. The Imperial Irrigation District projects that 84,000 acres of playa will be exposed by the time the lake settles into equilibrium around 2047.

"We need resources and programs to address public health concerns, restore wildlife and habitat, and explore economic development opportunities in the Salton Sea region," Vargas said in a statement.

In September, the pair of Southern California lawmakers successfully lobbied for the first congressional hearing on the Salton Sea in 23 years, although it devolved into California Democrats repeating talking points while Republicans either refused to show up or blasted the proceedings.

At the heart of the hearing and this bill is the question of responsibility for the lake's massive liability.

When the Imperial Irrigation District agreed to the Quantification Settlement Agreement in 2003 — a plan to transfer water to urban areas in the Coachella Valley and the coast — its board did so with California's assurance that the state would address the shrinking lake. Federal agencies point to this fact to say that the state must accept liability.

Ruiz and other California politicians point to federal estimates that suggest mitigation costs pursuant to the Clean Air Act could cost hundreds of millions of dollars on federally owned land under and around the Salton Sea.

"Limiting dust emissions and restoring habitat at the Salton Sea are high priorities for Governor Newsom and our Natural Resources Agency," Wade Crowfoot, the head of the agency, said in a statement applauding the bill's introduction. "While we are making progress, it is clear that federal government support and partnership are essential for us to stabilize and restore the Sea.

Environmental groups were quick to praise the bill, saying it would benefit the health of an estimated 650,000 people living near the lake.

"This will go a long way to bringing much-needed relief to the long-overlooked communities and ecosystems around the Sea," Pablo Garza of the Environmental Defense Fund, said in a statement.

The bill was referred to the House's Committee on Natural Resources and Committee on Energy and Commerce.

While Democrats retained control of the House in the 2020 general election, they will need to win two run-off races in Georgia to take control of the Senate. Otherwise, any environmental legislation, especially focused on Democrat-controlled California, faces a long-shot in a Republican-controlled Senate that has been hostile to the environment.