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By Lukas
Velush
The Desert Sun, June 28th, 2001
LA QUINTA -- The group charged with
saving the Salton Sea voted Wednesday to support legislation that
critics say will likely lead to the death of the sea they're supposed
to protect.
The Salton Sea Authority, a board of supervisors and water district
board members from Riverside and Imperial counties, voted 4-2 to
support legislation that would help California reduce its use of
Colorado River to what the state is legally allowed.
But the problem for the sea is the plan the board supported relies on
taking water away from the Salton Sea.
Without the water, the price of keeping salinity levels in the sea
safe for fish and the birds that feed on the fish climbs from about
$200 million to more than $1 billion, a price tag critics say will
never be funded.
"This certainly makes our project that much more difficult," said Tom
Kirk, executive director of the Salton Sea Authority.
Up to now the Salton Sea Authority has focused on developing a plan
to keep salt levels in the sea safe for fish and birds, and to keep
the sea's shoreline as intact as possible. The authority's plan has
been delayed multiple times but is due out within 60 days.
But the water districts responsible for reducing California's use of
Colorado River water from 5.2 million acre-feet per year to 4.4
million acre-feet per year are under pressure to meet a deadline to
get their "Quantification Agreement" settled by the end of the
2002.
All provisions of that agreement are approved except a transfer of
200,000 acre-feet of water per year from Imperial Irrigation District
to San Diego Water Authority.
If the transfer is not complete by the end of 2002, then the deal is
off. That would mean California would immediately have to reduce its
use of Colorado River.
The Quantification Agreement, on the other hand, gives the state 15
years to reduce its use. It also gives the Coachella Valley Water
District 800,000 acre-feet of new water every year, water that the
district says the valley needs to grow and recharge its overpumped
aquifer.
Here's the sticky part: The environmental impacts the IID-San Diego
water transfer would have on the Salton Sea are so significant and
expensive that they can't be mitigated in time to allow the
Quantification Agreement to meet its deadlines.
So, to speed things up, the water districts are asking Congress to
give them $60 million to help pay for the impacts.
But the watershed language in the bill is a provision that takes
liability for all of the environmental impacts of the water transfer
off the shoulders of the water districts and puts it on the back of
the state and federal governments.
The legislation is due to be submitted to Congress by the Fourth of
July. The authority's support is viewed as key if efforts to get the
legislation approved by the end of the year are to be successful.
"This is absolutely the endgame of the Salton Sea," said Norm Niver,
West Shores Chamber of Commerce president. "As far as I'm concerned
it's an end run around the environmental review."
The authority board members who voted to support the proposed
legislation say they had to support the agreement to avoid having the
larger water districts from Southern California swoop down and take
the water.
They also say the $60 million will be used on restoration if Congress
authorizes the much-delayed restoration project by 2007. If not, the
money will be spent on establishing endangered species habitat around
the edges of the sea while the larger sea is ignored.
"The best thing for the sea is supporting the Quantification
Agreement," said Peter Nelson, an authority board member who serves
on the Coachella Valley Water District.
Supporters also say they are getting proclamations from the
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and San Diego
Water Authority that say they support restoring the Salton Sea.