House passes bill that could see $250M for Salton Sea projects
A bill that could see $250 million go towards projects at the Salton Sea is heading to the Senate.
On Friday, the House passed "The Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act." It's a bill that local Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz has been pushing for.
The act includes a bill written by Ruiz that would earmark a quarter of a billion dollars for the Bureau of Reclamation to start new projects at the Salton Sea.
Ruiz said currently, the Bureau can only spend $10 million on projects at the sea so this bill would greatly increase that funding.
Sky and Sage agree: we must address the crisis at the Salton Sea!
— Raul Ruiz (@RepRaulRuizMD) July 29, 2022
Today, we called for the House to pass the Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act, which includes my bill to unlock $250 million for @usbr to get more shovels in the ground & pursue new projects at the Sea. pic.twitter.com/UJTKzZtq5z
Local Republican Congressman Ken Calvert voted against the act. He slammed the act in a statement released after his vote, saying, "This legislation is an unserious solution to some of the west’s most serious problems."
Calvert said that he offered several amendments to the bill that were blocked.
Check Out Rep. Calvert's full statement here
The bill now heads to the Senate.
News Channel 3 and anchor Angela Chen has been covering the issues surrounding the Salton Sea for years, including the environmental and health aspects of the looming ecological disaster.
Check out the Emmy-award winning Troubled Waters: The Salton Sea Project
