Back in 2023, Gov. Newsom was touting the development of this resource as part of his Net-Zero vision.
Posted by Leslie Eastman
Last week, I reported that federal officials were ordering the West to live within the limits of the Colorado River system.
As a result, the annual water allocations for California, Nevada, and Arizona will be reduced by a combined 1.25 million acre-feet for the next two years.
Interestingly, the water shortage is now affecting the state’s ability to create “Lithium Valley.” This development, which ties into a court order, may be a move to persuade officials to turn the spigot back on for the state.
After all, the Trump administration is robustly supporting the development of our nation’s critical mineral supplies.
A state appeals court ruled this week that Imperial County’s approval of the Hell’s Kitchen lithium and geothermal energy project failed to show it has enough water supply from the dwindling Colorado River to sustain its operation, or to address the potential air quality impacts of diverting more water from the polluted Salton Sea, which has been shrinking for years.
If the decision stands, it would clash with California and federal policies to amp up critical minerals production, potentially sparking intervention by state policymakers to try and obtain an adequate water supply, one expert said.
“Given the fact that California as a state has a vested interest in developing the mineral supply chain … and there’s these local challenges, I do think that this is going to come to a head,” said Beia Spiller, an energy economist with Resources for the Future, an environmental and economics research organization. “The only clear solution here is that the state is maybe going to try to step in.”
Often called the “Saudi Arabia of lithium,” the Salton Sea region where this mine would be placed could hold enough of the critical mineral to satisfy all projected U.S. demand and more than a third of anticipated global demand.
In fact, back in 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom was touting the development of this resource as part of his Net-Zero vision, as lithium is an essential ingredient in electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
However, the eco-activists that Democrats pander to are also a substantial hindrance to the development of these resources.
In 2023, the governor visited the Salton Sea area to tout the Hell’s Kitchen project — portraying the future mining as not only an economic boon but also a way for California to combat carbon emissions.
“California is poised to become the world’s largest source of batteries, and it couldn’t come at a more crucial moment in our efforts to move away from fossil fuels,” Newsom said during his visit.
An appellate court ruled this August in favor of the environmentalists, sending the environmental review back to the company and county officials after years of legal back-and-forth.
…The legal setback means that the lithium projects have yet to start full operation. A spokesperson for Controlled Thermal Resources declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.
However, there are a few solutions to ensure a more robust water supply. Sacramento can revise its priorities and direct funding and support to water infrastructure projects.
Furthermore, more rain may be coming from the anticipated Super El Niño.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is forecasting wetter-than-normal conditions across much of the Western US through mid-September as a strengthening El Niño develops, per KTLA.
Southern California could be among the areas seeing the greatest impact, with NOAA forecasting a 50% to 60% chance of above-average precipitation across Southern California and southwestern Arizona from Sept. 9 through Sept. 15.
“Tropical moisture may produce heavy rainfall for some areas, especially the Southwest,” NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center told the outlet.
However, California’s politicians have coddled environmental activists for years. I do not think there is a solution to this problem.
