In the News
Schwarzenegger signs Salton Sea Legislation
Staff reports • September 28, 2010
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill by Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny to create a new council to oversee the Salton Sea.
The bill to create the Salton Sea Restoration Council passed the Assembly, 51-25, on Aug. 31, the last day of the legislative session. It then passed the Senate, 26-4.
“It's an important structure to put in place, and it will allow us to move forward,” the San Diego Democrat said earlier this month.
But the Salton Sea Authority, a local advocacy group consisting of county supervisors, water agency and tribal officials from Riverside and Imperial counties, opposed Ducheny's bill as amended.
Authority members are concerned the proposed council's makeup leans toward the state and could potentially override local control.
Ducheny's bill in January called for a 14-member council with eight state members and six local representatives. But the bill later added two more state officials.
After the bill passed, Coachella Valley Water District board president and Salton Sea Authority member Patricia “Corky” Larson said she hopes “the authority will pursue its own solutions at the Salton Sea, and the state will eventually acquiesce to that.”
