Evidence is mounting that the Salton Sea could be reaching a tipping point in its ability to provide for fish and birds. Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun


PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — The federal government is stepping up its commitment to the Salton Sea and exploring the possibility of buying geothermal energy from the Imperial Valley, in a series of moves that could help fund restoration projects at California's largest lake and maybe pave the way for a multi-state agreement to use less Colorado River water.

The unveiling of those initiatives is timed to coincide with President Obama's trip to Lake Tahoe on Wednesday, for the 20th annual Lake Tahoe Summit. According to a statement from the White House, Wednesday's announcements include:

• A memorandum of understanding between the state and federal governments on the Salton Sea, designed to speed up projects that protect human health and the environment;

• A "request for information" through which the federal government will explore whether it can buy between 100 and 250 megawatts of geothermal power from the Salton Sea area;

• Possible funding from a non-profit called the Water Funder Initiative, which has set a goal of providing $10 million over five years to support Salton Sea restoration.

The White House's interest in the Salton Sea comes at a precarious time for the beleaguered lake, which is shrinking as farm runoff declines. As dry lakebed is exposed, gusting winds are kicking up dust laced with pesticides and other chemicals, polluting the desert air. Fish are dying en masse as the lake gets too salty to support much life, and migrating birds that travel from Alaska to South America are seeing a critical inland stopover start to disappear. The Pacific Institute, a water think tank, has estimated Californians could face up to $70 billion in costs as the lake deteriorates.

Local agencies and state officials are working on Salton Sea mitigation plans, which mostly involve building artificial wetlands to suppress dust and provide habitat for fish and birds. But while a few of those projects have gotten underway, most of them are still in the planning stage, and nobody knows where all the money will come from. The White House hopes to jump-start the process.

"Today's announcement demonstrates that smart and strategic action in Salton Sea can unlock significant public health, environmental, and economic wins for the region," Brian Deese, a senior adviser to Obama, said in a statement.

Details of the state-federal memorandum weren't clear early Wednesday. But Bruce Wilcox, who oversees Salton Sea policy for the California Natural Resources Agency, described the document as a "big step." While the feds previously signed a Salton Sea memorandum in 2014, this one outlines specific details about state-federal cooperation and potential funding mechanisms, Wilcox said.

"We’ve gotten to the point where both the state and the federal government recognize the importance of moving forward," he said.

The Department of Energy's request for information on geothermal development also could signal a sea change.

The rock formations beneath the Salton Sea contain one of the most powerful geothermal reservoirs in the world, and local agencies, including the Imperial Irrigation District, have long argued that fees paid by geothermal companies could help fund Salton Sea restoration. But geothermal development has largely stalled in recent years, because of the technology's high up-front costs.

Geothermal advocates have criticized the California Public Utilities Commission, which administers the state's renewable energy mandate, saying the agency has under-valued geothermal and stymied its development. While building the facilities is expensive, those critics say, geothermal plants provide climate-friendly energy around the clock, balancing out intermittent solar and wind power.

If the federal government follows through on its request for information and buys geothermal energy from the Salton Sea, it could "break the deadlock" and help spark a geothermal building boom, said V. John White, executive director of the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies, a Sacramento, Calif.-based trade group.

"We've got to start somewhere," White said.

The White House's involvement in Salton Sea restoration also bodes well for ongoing Colorado River negotiations between California, Arizona and Nevada. The three states hope to share in cutbacks so as to avoid a looming shortage at Lake Mead, the nation's largest reservoir. If they agree to use less river water now, the thinking goes, they could avoid federally mandated reductions later.

But any agreement to use less Colorado River water probably will require buy-in from the Imperial Irrigation District, which provides enormous amounts of river water to Imperial Valley farms. Less water flowing to those farms also would mean less runoff trickling into the Salton Sea, potentially accelerating its decline. Irrigation district officials are loathe to support a Colorado River deal without firm commitments from the state and federal government to address the Salton Sea, and a concrete plan for following through on those commitments.

Still, it's far from clear how much the initiatives being announced Wednesday will help. State officials have said their work-in-progress Salton Sea Management Program could cost as much as $3.5 billion, and it's not clear where the bulk of that money will come from. Some experts don't think geothermal can play a major role in Salton Sea restoration, including researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, who estimated last year the industry could generate at most $210 million for restoration efforts by 2030, largely because development is already so expensive.

Recognizing the high costs of building a geothermal plant, the White House will announce $29 million in funding from the Department of Energy for geothermal research projects in Nevada and Utah on Wednesday. That work, in theory, could bring down the costs of development. The department also will host a forum on Salton Sea geothermal development in October, in Sacramento.

​White called Wednesday's announcements "a step in the right direction."

"Now the challenge is, how do we build on this momentum and get something done," he said.

Contributing: Ian James, The (Palm Springs, Calif.) Desert Sun. Follow Sammy Roth on Twitter: @Sammy_Roth

Read or Share this story: