Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
June 4, 2007
3. Watersheds
More hurdles for Salton Sea - Desert Sun
Proposed early start habitat plan may be key in saving Sea's creatures before it's too late - Desert Sun
What they're saying about the Salton Sea - Desert Sun
More hurdles for Salton Sea
Desert Sun – 6/3/07
By Erica Solvig, staff writer
From disgruntled locals to skeptical lawmakers, there is a long way to go before everyone agrees on the state's plan to fix the
Now the restoration's strongest advocates are trying to find common ground among supporters so they can continue a unified front statewide.
The Salton Sea Authority will meet in a couple of weeks to go over state Secretary of Resources Mike Chrisman's $8.9 billion restoration plan point by point. Of the 11 concerns the La Quinta-based group raised to the state, seven have been addressed, authority Executive Director Rick Daniels said.
The local consensus from
"We need some calm, thoughtful thinking to occur and we need to avoid shrill objections," Daniels said.
And it's not just locals who need convincing.
Interviews with lawmakers from outside the
"We ought to drain that sucker out and be done with it," State Sen. Roy Ashburn, R-Bakersfield, said half-jokingly.
"We could make that a regional landfill for all of
More answers needed
The $8.9 billion plan Chrisman gave to the state Legislature last month left many authority members with questions.
It divides the existing body of water into a smaller recreation lake and wildlife habitat. Because a water deal signed in 2003 redirects some of the water now flowing into the sea, much of the lake bed will be exposed and need to be managed for dust.
The plan is needed, officials say, to address the shrinking and ever-increasing salt levels of the Salton Sea, which is roughly the size of the
The state has not yet decided who will run the plan. But some supporters have said the managing agency, likely a mix of state, federal and local agencies, would play a significant role in the sea's future.
Many officials representing local interests weren't pleased with the state's plan, saying it deviated too far from the locally supported plan the authority created.
A deal breaker, officials say, hinges on resolving the land concerns raised by the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians.
Some tribal land now under water will dry up under the state's current proposal, raising concerns that ancient villages there before the basin flooded could be exposed and artifacts destroyed, Chairman Raymond Torres said.
Plus tribal officials "do not have anybody's promise" that the exposed lake bed under the tribe's jurisdiction would be managed for dust, Torres said.
Until they are addressed, tribe officials have said they can't support the plan.
"They're aware of where we stand," Torres said. "It will not change."
Tribe representatives will be among those authority members meeting the week of June 28 to go over Chrisman's plan in detail.
Daniels said he hopes to build a common approach to getting the land issue worked out, one that includes working with the state on more environmental impact studies and tweaking the plan.
"Now there's nothing wrong with standing up for what you believe in, but there is an approach that needs to be taken that can help (local lawmakers) in getting their colleagues to vote for this thing," Daniels said.
"If it's just chaotic looking, they're not going to be able to do it."
Authority members also hope some of the changes to the plan can save billions.
Without having these local issues worked out and getting a local buy-in, "it's not going to be possible for (the state) to put a plan in place," said Imperial County Supervisor Gary Wyatt, who's concerned about the amount of water the plan uses and having recreational lake opportunities in the south end of the sea.
"We play a critical role in this," Wyatt said. "Unless we have our issues addressed, we have the opportunity to impact this entire process."
Approving the funds
Senate Bill 187, by Sen. Denise Ducheny, is intended to kick-start restoration by creating the local-state-federal agency that will oversee the work. It also locks in $47 million to get the project going, money initially approved in a previous voter-approved bond.
"I joke with some of my supervisor friends I have down that way that, in 1905, an accident happened, they had their 100th birthday party a couple of years ago, (so) let's drain the thing and be done," Assemblyman Doug La Malfa, R-Biggs.
The lawmaker said, however, that he realizes the state's largest lake is important to the region and the state has a responsibility to try to help.
"Helping the locals down there with this issue - we have to find a way to do that because we represent the entire state," La Malfa said. "They have needs. Let's see what we can do to accommodate."
The Senate is expected to vote on the bill by Friday.
While some across the state had argued the sea should be dealt with locally, Ducheny countered that "it's not more local than the Redwoods or
"We are ready to do the first phases of this without a lot of differences," the San Diego Democrat said of the funding needed now.
"That is important to get us started," said Ducheny, whose district includes parts of the Coachella and Imperial valleys.
But the
"We have to see what's realistic, what makes sense, what we can accomplish within the array of water needs of the state," said Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, D-Davis, who chairs the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee.
Her Senate counterpart on water policy, Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said the
Most of Southern California and the
The Delta is plagued with environmental problems, and its water relay system depends on a deteriorating levee system on islands that protect the fresh water from
"Our No. 1 water priority must be fixing the Delta," said Steinberg, who chairs the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee. "The entire state depends on a healthy Delta."
But some say the
"We are concerned that this $8.9 billion price tag is going to overwhelm everyone and they're just going to throw up their hands and walk away," said Kim Delfino,
"We run a strong risk of the sea getting short-shrifted. But the sea is just as much a crisis and needs to be addressed." #
http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070603/NEWS0701/706030320/1006
Proposed early start habitat plan may be key in saving Sea's creatures before it's too late
Desert Sun – 6/3/07
By Erica Solvig, staff writer
Even if lawmakers support the state's proposed
Can enough be done before the fish and the rest of the aquatic food chain die off?
Experts admit they are under a major time crunch. The lowest levels of the sea's food chain have started to die and there's a chance the fish will all be gone before the almost $9 billion plan begins.
Their hope lies in the proposed early start habitat program that will be used as a haven for the fish, birds and other wildlife that use the state's largest lake.
"In 10 years, 12 years, tilapia are going to be gone," said Michael Cohen, a senior associate with the Oakland-based Pacific Institute, which has studied the sea's future.
"Can a restoration plan be done in time to save the tilapia as well? That's unlikely as well.
"They would have to restock fish. It will take a long time to get a project up and running."
The state's plans call for 2,000-acres of early start habitat to be designed and implemented in the first years of this project.
The idea is to have a segment of the existing sea where fish and birds can exist - even if it is in smaller numbers. 
"There will probably be a point where we will not be supporting the same number of birds we do right now," said Kimberly Nicol, senior environmental scientist with the state's Department of Fish and Game.
"There will be not as many fish out there. We're hoping (the early start habitat) doesn't lead to any large crashes but provides a stop-gap measure."
After construction is done and the sea is restored - which could take decades - officials say it's likely they'll have to replenish the sea with additional fish. They hope that will attract any birds that have left to come back.
"If we don't do something before we get the larger project built, there were going to be some problems for the species," Nicol said. "It is a concern we realized early on" #
http://www.desertsunonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070603/NEWS0701/706030322/1006/news01
What they're saying about the Salton Sea
Desert Sun – 6/3/07
"We're trying to get a more balanced plan. When we start dealing with this piece by piece, we'll find a way."
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"I'm not an expert on the
- Senate Republican leader Dick Ackerman, R-Tustin
"We have to stack availability of resources against competing demands. But you'd be foolish to say it's (
- Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco
"What we really need to be focused on is more fresh water. From the
- Sen. Roy Ashburn, R-
"If there is a statewide benefit to be achieved by remedying that situation, then I think it is appropriate for the state to put resources toward that"
- Sen. Dave Cogdill, R-Fresno
"We thought we gave everybody something. We're a little surprised at the negative reaction."
- Dale Hoffman-Floerke, chief of the California Department of Water Resources' Colorado River and Salton Sea Office #
http://www.desertsunonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070603/NEWS0701/706030321/1006/news01
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