Federal Officials Boost Salton Sea Restoration - Geothermal Energy will Play a Big Part (The Desert Sun)
The effort to restore the Salton Sea gained momentum in the nation’s capital Thursday, as California lawmakers and the Obama administration touted renewable energy as an environmental and economic lifeline.
Sen. Barbara Boxer and two Southern California House members, Reps. Raul Ruiz and Juan Vargas, urged the U.S. Interior Department to make it easier to set up renewable-energy projects such as geothermal plants as part of a broader restoration plan for the Salton Sea.
In a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, the three Democratic lawmakers endorsed a plan by Kevin Kelley, general manager for the Imperial Irrigation District, to use revenue derived from renewable-energy projects at or near the sea to pay for environmental restoration of California’s largest lake and help struggling communities in the region.
In another development Thursday, the U.S. Interior Department and the Salton Sea Authority took a small but significant step forward in creating a restoration plan palatable to all.
They signed a Memorandum of Understanding that recognizes their “commonality of interests,” said Anne Castle, assistant Interior secretary for water and science.
The memo will serve as the foundation for continued federal, state and local cooperation over restoration plans, Castle said at the first-ever Capitol Hill briefing about the Salton Sea, an event Boxer arranged.
The GRC will be attending the Imperial Valley Renewable Energy Summit
12-14 March, at the Quechan Resort, Winterhaven, Imperial County, California, USA. Visit us at booth# 12.
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