Imperial County residents attend presentation on Lithium Valley Project

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA) - A handful of residents gathered at Elks Lodge in Brawley to hear a presentation on Imperial County's Lithium Valley Project.

The presentation, hosted by Los Amigos de la Comunidad, touched on lithium uses for electric vehicle batteries, cellphones, and energy storage systems.

They discussed job creation, new tax revenue for Imperial County, and the possibility of new manufacturing plants.

However, there are environmental concerns about lithium mining, water use and longterm sustainability.

Brawley City Councilman Tim Kelley also mentioned that Lithium Valley will support data centers and other industry, and urged the public to get behind the project.

"We can come back on about three years when there's an opportunity for new business to come in and we say, we were there at the table. We supported that. And we want to make sure that those projects met the requirements that the community wants," Councilman Kelley explained.

The public is urged to submit comments and concerns online as the project enters it's planning and approval phase.