Gov. Jerry Brown announced plans Friday for the state to back larger projects to control dust and construct wetlands along the receding shores of the Salton Sea.
In response to recommendations made by the newly formed Salton Sea Task Force, the state plans to restore between 9,000 and 12,000 acres of shoreline habitat by 2020 using already-available state funds.
Starting in 2020, the state will then begin to restore an additional 18,000 to 25,000 acres of exposed shoreline, although an end date for this stage of restoration has yet to be set.
Also approved were plans to use a science advisory committee to supervise decisions related to the Salton Sea, and to ensure regulatory oversight by the State Water Resources Control Board.
The task force has recommended those actions in order to prevent larger problems at the Salton Sea, which since its accidental creation in 1905 has gone from prime fishing and boating location to a possible environmental catastrophe.
The Imperial Irrigation District has 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.