USA, California:

Imperial Irrigation District Presses State to Live Up to Salton Sea Commitment (The Desert Sun)

The Imperial Irrigation District has for the past year been promoting a plan to develop more geothermal energy plants near the Salton Sea.

The Imperial Irrigation District (IID) is pressing for the state to take the lead in settling on a plan for the Salton Sea and paying for it as a deadline nears in less than three years for the lake’s decline to accelerate.

IID officials say they never would have approved the 2003 water transfer deal known as the Quantification Settlement Agreement, or QSA, without the state’s commitment to be responsible for much of the costs of “restoration” of the Salton Sea. The deal called for the IID to deliver “mitigation” flows to the Salton Sea for a period of 15 years. After 2017, those deliveries are scheduled to end as increasing amounts of water are sent to urban areas in San Diego County and the Coachella Valley.

The Imperial Irrigation District has for the past year been promoting a plan to develop more geothermal energy plants near the Salton Sea. The agency, which owns portions of the lake bed, proposes to generate money through leases and use the funds for dust control projects.

Read More.......