Over 200 million dollars for Salton Sea restoration project

Over $200 million dollars from Proposition 68 and state funds are being invested in the Salton Sea. State officials at a press conference said they’re working to prevent a regional environmental disaster.

West Shores Vice-Mayor Mark Gertz said it’s about time because the area is becoming a major health hazard.

“Because the lives of the residents and the flora and fauna of the Salton Sea basin are life-depending upon that. The local high school in Salton Sea has four times the state level of asthma. School children in mecca are getting nosebleeds and asthma much higher than the state levels,” Gertz said.

Senator Ben Hueso, 40 th Senate Disctrict, said he understand the problem.

“It’s not just a Riverside or Imperial Problem, it’s a statewide problem that people should be very concerned about not addressing,” Hueso said.

State Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia explained the allocation of the funds.

“It’s broken down into a 170 million dollars that will go directly to the Salton Sea management program for this first phase of this 10-year plan. It is 30 million dollars that will go directly to the Salton Sea authority to begin these efforts immediately. And then ten million of those will go towards the 20 million-dollar cost of cleaning up the new river,” Garcia said.

Gertz appreciates the amount but said that it’s not enough to solve a problem that has a price tag in the billions.

“This will not fund all of the ten-year plan. To not address the sea at large is going to incur long-term disastrous results,” Gertz said.

Concerned officials are looking for more funds.

Bruce Wilcox, Salton Sea Authority, said, “We have sixty million dollars from prop one that we will use to build projects around the Salton Sea. The wheels grind slower than any of us would like in government,” Wilcox said.

Imperial County District 1 Supervisor John Renison said, “This fall, in November, there will be another bond on the ballot and hopefully the people of California will realize the importance of that one as well.”

Phillip Johnson, Salton Sea Authority, said, “We need projects on the ground as soon as possible but there is progress and things, for the first time in a long time, are looking very positive.”

Comite Civico del Valle Director Jose Luis Olmedo said the funds might be just enough to deal with immediate critical issues.

“To mitigate that exposed area, all that dust that’s already landing into our air, our communities and of course, we have very severe issues with asthma. So, this is very promising to be able to deal with the more urgent issues right now,” Olmedo said.

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