try and come up with some workable solutions to the 10-plus years of litiga- tion,” Shields said. However, according to SDCWA,


there is no impetus for IID and Imperial County to embark on any agreements that would tamper with the spirit of the QSA. “Having evaluated the trial court decision in the coordinated [QSA] cases issues … we are pleased with the outcome and see no reason to revisit the underlying issues in that litigation through mediation,” wrote General Manager Maureen Stapleton in a letter to IID’s Kevin Kelley.


What seems to be clear is the Sea’s potential as a producer of renewable energy, which some suggest can be tapped to fund mitigation and restora- tion. T e geologic conditions of the area enable companies to drill deep wells into the geothermal fi eld which allows heated water to come to the surface and generate electricity. Local offi cials recognize the value and potential of renewable energy development. “T e Salton Sea is home to the


greatest potential boom economy in California,” said Phil Rosentrater, deputy director for the Economic Development Agency of Riverside County, at the hearing. “T e Sea and its public resources off er a massive clean energy laboratory, probably the most concentrated opportu- nity for clean energy anywhere.” Rosentrater’s sentiments were echoed


by V. John White, executive director of the Center for Energy Effi ciency and Renewable Technologies (CEERT). “I think Imperial and the Salton Sea


area is a huge economic opportunity to become a renewable foundation for the state,” he told the committee. State wildlife experts say geothermal energy can be produced without harming native species. “We have found that geothermal


[development] and wildlife are very compatible,” Kim Nicol, regional manager of the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Inland Deserts Region, told the


Summer 2013 • River Report • Colorado River Project • 5


Watch a KMIR News video about the Salton Sea


committee. “We think that as habitat is built, they can co-exist.” T is issue of River Report discusses


the Salton Sea, the enigmatic, saline, terminal water body where offi cials and stakeholder are trying to craft a long- term, viable solution to preserve the Sea’s ecological health.


Finding a Vision for the Sea While numerous studies of methods to restore the Sea were conducted by state and federal agencies years before the QSA, no planned restoration was imminent when the QSA environmental documents


were published in late 2002. T e last restoration eff ort before the QSA occurred in 2000 and was based on the federal Salton Sea Reclamation Act of 1998, which resulted in a report identifying numerous potential restoration alterna- tives for the Sea, none of which were acted on. Precisely because of concerns about the QSA projects’ potential impact on the Sea, the mitigation adopted was designed to preserve the status quo to allow the state to design and implement a restora- tion project. T ough remotely situated, the Salton


Sea does have the attention of offi cials in Sacramento. Keali’i Bright, deputy secretary for legislation with the Natural Resources Agency, told the committee there is “a genuine renewed focus in Sacramento,” and that “we do have a cohesive vision for the Sea.” Bright acknowledged that reality of


the Sea’s plight was brought to people’s attention in a jarring manner last fall as


Desert wind picks up the dust from the exposed seabed. Th e dust is more than an irritant; it is unhealthy, carrying the remnants of arsenic, chromium, zinc, lead, selenium and pesticides that have accumulated in Salton Sea mud.


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