State agencies report milestone progress and new funding for Salton Sea restoration; East Pond filling to begin

State and partner agencies reported new funding and construction milestones for work to stabilize and restore the Salton Sea, and said they will begin filling an expansion of the Species Conservation Habitat project the day after the board’s May 21 workshop in Thermal.

The California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) and partner departments described federal and state funding advances and early habitat work that agency leaders said will help curb exposed playa, suppress dust and provide habitat for birds and other wildlife. “For the first time, ever, we are actually turning on those projects, filling up this project with water, which is really exciting,” California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot told the State Water Board.

The agency said 2024 was the largest year of funding in the program’s history, including a reported federal commitment in the range of $175 million (part of a broader federal package discussed publicly as about $245 million) and $160 million appropriated from Proposition 4, the 2024 climate bond approved by voters. CNRA staff also said the budget proposals they were developing include startup funding to stand up the new Salton Sea Conservancy, created by state legislation described at the workshop; CNRA staff reported a $10 million proposal to support that conservancy.

Why it matters: the Salton Sea has lost shoreline and now exposes tens of thousands of acres of lakebed that can produce dust that affects air quality and public health. The stated 10-year goal for Phase 1 of the Salton Sea Management Program is to complete 29,800 acres of habitat and dust-suppression projects by 2028 under conditions set in a 2017 stipulated order the board enforces.

Key program numbers and near-term actions - CNRA’s annual report, submitted in March and discussed at the workshop, lists project delivery, planning and community engagement from 2024. CNRA indicated a cumulative 3,225 acres reported as complete to date in the 2024 annual report table presented to the board. - The stipulated order adopted in 2017 sets phase-1 acreage milestones; condition 24 called for 2,700 acres in 2024 and a cumulative target of 29,800 acres at the end of 2028. - The program reported about 22,400 acres of exposed playa (about 35 square miles) and a present lake elevation of roughly 241 feet below mean sea level, down about 13 feet since February 2003; those physical statistics guide where projects are prioritized. - Agencies said they will begin filling the East Pond expansion of the Species Conservation Habitat (SCH) project “tomorrow,” in the words of Mario Llanos, deputy assistant secretary for CNRA’s Salton Sea program.

Projects and permitting The largest project in the portfolio, the Species Conservation Habitat project at the southern end of the lake, was described as the immediate priority because topography there is causing more rapid shoreline recession. The SCH project includes shallow, mid- and deep-water ponds and features to support nesting islands and fish-eating birds. California Department of Water Resources staff described construction techniques and materials used to withstand saline conditions and sediment-handling methods necessary to build in the lakebed.

CNRA and federal partners also reported completion of the first programmatic environmental planning and regulatory compliance…