Boxer, Feinstein Offer Salton Sea Cleanup Bill

Piggybacking on what has quickly become the state’s highest-profile environmental project, California Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein on Thursday introduced their own legislation to restore the Salton Sea in memory of the late Rep. Sonny Bono.

Unlike a bill offered last week by House leaders--including Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.)--the Democrats’ proposal would give the Interior Department up to 18 months to study all options for cleaning up the sea, which is flooded with salt, and develop a restoration plan. The Senate legislation would also withhold funding for the reclamation until a full environmental review is complete.

The House bill seeks an accelerated restoration and funding process.

The Boxer-Feinstein plan won the backing of Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and various environmentalists. But House members eager to honor the legacy of Bono, a Palm Springs Republican whose top legislative priority was the Salton Sea cleanup, were somewhat skeptical.

“This has been studied and studied and studied to death,” said Harald Stavenas, an aide to Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-El Cajon). “If we wait any longer, the Salton Sea is going to die.”

Boxer said the bill she and Feinstein will push is more prudent because it would not allow the government to circumvent any environmental laws or judicial review, which she fears would land the project in court. Also, although the House bill outlines three options for restoring the contaminated sea 30 miles south of Indio, the Boxer-Feinstein measure would not limit the choices.

“We don’t say what the answer is,” Boxer said. “We believe the experts have to do it, not the politicians.”

Though the Clinton administration has yet to officially endorse either version, Babbitt expressed his support for Boxer and Feinstein’s approach in an interview with The Times. The House version gives just a year for the Interior Department to devise a reclamation plan; the Senate bill allows 12 months for study and another six, if necessary, to engineer a proposal.

The House bill asks for $327 million upfront, while Boxer and Feinstein call for a $30-million study, with $300 million added later for implementation.

Formed in 1905 when the Colorado River burst through its dikes, the Salton Sea once provided the backdrop to a thriving resort, but now collects enough salt each day to fill a train a mile long. Fish and birds have been dying at the sea by the thousands.

Boxer said she hoped that House leaders would adopt some of the ideas in the Senate bill. “This isn’t a hostile takeover,” she joked. “This is what I consider a friendly amendment.”