Salton Sea: long-term strategy.

The Salton Sea Restoration Act requires the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, in consultation and coordination with the Salton Sea Authority, to lead Salton Sea restoration efforts. Existing law, including the act, specifies various sources of funding for Salton Sea restoration and mitigation projects, and provides for the allocation of various responsibilities among state agencies and regional water agencies for implementation and administration of those projects. This bill would require the secretary to work with local stakeholders to develop a long-term strategy for the Salton Sea. The bill would require the long-term strategy to, among other things, assess the environmental impacts and economic viability of the Salton Sea, identify challenges to enacting a long-term strategy, and provide recommendations for addressing the identified challenges. The bill would require the secretary, in preparing the long-term strategy, to create an advisory panel and work with relevant agencies at the federal, local, and binational level.