Geologically rich but economically poor, Salton Sea communities want a say in their lithium future
May 14, 2025 | 12:03 pm ET
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The Salton Sea will soon become a major hub for California’s renewable energy economy, prompting the legislature to take steps to ensure future investments benefit local communities that have long been left behind.
The Salton Sea is a haven for wildlife, a repository of critical minerals and the site of some of the worst environmental and economic conditions in California.
The contrast between its natural riches and its impoverished population has sharpened as companies seek to mine vast deposits of lithium, a mineral used to make batteries for electric cars, computers and cellphones.
“Today, the Salton Sea region stands at a critical juncture with a chance to become a major domestic supplier of lithium,” state Sen. Steve Padilla, who represents parts of Riverside, Imperial and San Diego counties, recently told the Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development.
The Chula Vista Democrat wants to give the region a bigger say in how it grows amid the projected lithium boom. His bill, SB 534, would create a “green empowerment zone” around the sea that would govern how to use public money, invest in local communities and support the transition to a renewable energy economy.
It would be run by a board of directors with representatives from Imperial and Riverside Counties, local cities, tribal members, energy experts with the University of California and large, private employers.
Padilla’s proposal is modeled after a similar program for the Contra Costa waterfront, which aimed to build on an existing workforce in the renewable energy sector. That program was due to expire in 2028, but two northern California lawmakers are proposing to extend it to 2040, to blunt the economic impact of the Marathon oil refinery closure in Martinez.
In contrast, the Salton Sea proposal in Southern California aims to position an emerging renewable energy industry for rapid growth, and ensure that local residents get a piece of the pie.
Development of lithium mining and other energy projects “could drive regional prosperity, create high paid jobs, support a well-articulated workforce” and boost industry in the desert, Padilla said.
But local advocates say there’s a risk that neighboring communities could be left behind. Most of the region faces poor air quality, high unemployment, an untrained workforce and limited health care access.
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The region’s 150,000 inhabitants have also been split along jurisdictional lines. Imperial County communities are lumped in with San Diego, while the Coachella Valley and eastern Riverside County areas are attached to the Inland Empire. But those southeastern desert areas — with low-income, rural, largely Spanish-speaking communities — have more in common with each other than with their respective urban counterparts, the bill notes. Gov. Gavin Newsom last year vetoed a bill that would have created an economic hub similar to SB 534 to help stitch these areas together.
Padilla acknowledged that the region has often suffered disappointment through “major boom and bust cycles, economic promises that have often failed to deliver sustainable quality of life improvements to the residents and local communities.”
Salton Sea residents and local organizations want to make sure they don’t miss out on the benefits of what state leaders hail as a “white gold” rush in the region.
Learn more about legislators mentioned in this story.
“The development of a California-based clean energy supply chain in the Salton Sea region that facilitates vocational and higher education opportunities for local residents, in their pursuit of high road quality jobs in the Imperial Valley emerging clean energy sector, is a priority,” said Christian Torres, director of climate equity and resilience for the nonprofit Comite Civico Del Valle.
The organization has already challenged a Salton Sea project called Hell’s Kitchen, which promised to be one of the world’s largest lithium mines.
Comite Civico Del Valle and the nonprofit Earthworks argued that the company proposing the mine, Controlled Thermal Resources, didn’t fully address the project’s effects on water supply and air quality, and didn’t properly consult with local Native American tribes. A judge cleared the project to start in January, but the groups filed an appeal in March.
Aydee Palomino, an environmental justice project manager with the nonprofit Alianza Coachella Valley, a co-sponsor of Padilla’s bill, said a green empowerment zone would help local agencies collaborate on funding applications and projects and provide “a structured way to ensure everyone has a seat at the table, shares responsibilities, and advances regional priorities,” she said.
It’s part of a broader effort by Padilla to bolster the Salton Sea region. Last year he introduced legislation to create the Salton Sea Conservancy, which will improve habitat around the inland sea, with water features for shorebirds and revegetation projects along its banks. Nearly half a billion dollars in state and federal funds are devoted to that effort.
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