A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
October 5, 2007
3. Watersheds
Salton Sea authority in uncharted waters; Agency's clout questioned as funds shrink, leader leaves
Desert Sun – 10/5/07
By Keith Matheny, staff writer
Its executive director is leaving, its finances are dwindling and its influence in
The Salton Sea Authority is at a crossroads.
Board members on Thursday tackled some tough subjects: how to maintain relevance and push locally backed alternatives for restoring the dying sea - all while downsizing in the face of new financial realities.
"We are running out of cash. We are probably spending reserves at this point," said outgoing Executive Director Rick Daniels, who is finalizing his work for the agency after taking a job as Desert Hot Springs' city manager.
The authority has about $250,000 in reserves for items such as grant maintenance and audits, board president Peter Nelson said.
The authority's budget assumed $1 million from
But "the state is headed in a different direction," planning a new, locally based agency to manage implementation, a staff-prepared memo distributed to board members states.
"The authority is out of money for ongoing operations and needs an infusion of cash from the member organizations depending upon the mission chosen or the decision to disband," the memo states.
Member agencies -
The board voted to charge Nelson with formation of a committee to recommend a future path for the agency by the board's November meeting.
Nelson said the board could hire an interim director, contract the position to an outside agency or operate without an executive director, as it did in the 1990s, instead relying upon leadership from staff of member agencies.
"I think it's our responsibility to work within our means," Nelson said. "We're going to have to rely more heavily on our member agencies."
The Salton Sea,
After years of false starts and debate, state Secretary of Resources Mike Chrisman this spring chose a 75-year, $8.9 billion mitigation plan to restore the sea, ease air quality problems and preserve wildlife habitat.
A bill sponsored by state Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny, D-San Diego, would earmark $47 million in state Proposition 84 water bond money for
But the bill stalled in an Assembly committee at the end of the legislative year. Daniels said Ducheny's office is working with stakeholders to resolve sticking points and move the bill forward in January.
Authority members are concerned.
They say their sea restoration proposal is better than the state's, costing billions less and providing more opportunities for recreation and local economic prosperity.
Authority members also said the state's conservancy-type project management concept as proposed doesn't provide enough local representation.
"We have a real issue with the state," Nelson said. "Our plan is not their plan. They're moving ahead without us."
Nelson noted that more than 100 local agencies passed resolutions of support for the authority's restoration plan.
"There's a thought that if we move toward the conservancy and buy into the state's plan then we're somewhat compromising our direction," he said.
Daniels reported to board members Thursday that state environmental agencies have met in recent weeks on beginning early start habitat programs at the
"(The state) decided to go without us, but they're going to find out they can't do it unless they do it with us," Riverside County Supervisor and authority board member Marion Ashley said.
Department of Resources spokesman Sandy Cooney said he was not aware of any work on restoration planning that excluded the authority.
"We have bent over backward through this entire process to ensure local input is paramount in everything we've done, and we continue to do so," he said. #
http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071005/NEWS0701/710050377/-1/newsfront
####
No comments:
Post a Comment