I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8775 

To require the Secretary of the Interior to take certain measures with respect 

to protecting the Salton Sea, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 18, 2020 

Mr. RUIZ (for himself and Mr. VARGAS) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to 

the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently 

determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Interior to take certain 

measures with respect to protecting the Salton Sea, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Salton Sea Public 

5 Health and Environmental Protection Act of 2020’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FEDERAL SALTON SEA MANAGEMENT ACRES. 

2 Title XI of the Reclamation Projects Authorization 

3 and Adjustment Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–575) is 

4 amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 1102. RESTORATION PROGRAM. 

6 ‘‘(a) RESTORATION PROGRAM.—The Secretary of the 

7 Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, shall 

8 provide for a program within the Bureau’s Salton Sea 

9 Program Office to improve water quality, provide for dust 

10 mitigation, protect the public’s health, and provide for en11 vironmental and habitat restoration at the Salton Sea in 

12 California. 

13 ‘‘(b) FEDERAL SALTON SEA MANAGEMENT

14 ACRES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte16 rior shall provide for such measures as such Sec17 retary determines appropriate for dust control and 

18 habitat conservation, consistent with State and local 

19 requirements, with respect to an acreage within the 

20 Salton Sea of the same size as the acreage for which 

21 the State of California provides for dust control and 

22 habitat conservation under the Salton Sea Manage23 ment Program and the State Water Board Order. 

24 Such Secretary shall, to the maximum extent pos25 sible when carrying out this requirement, provide 


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1 such measures for an equivalent number of acres of 

2 dust control and of habitat conservation. 

3 ‘‘(2) CALCULATION.—The Secretary of the In4 terior may calculate the satisfaction of the Federal 

5 Salton Sea Management Acres obligation described 

6 in paragraph (1) in three-year increments to account 

7 for variability in acres available and appropriate for 

8 management. 

9 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION WITH THE STATE OF CALI10 FORNIA.— 

11 ‘‘(A) MEMORANDUM OF UNDER12 STANDING.—Not later than 180 days after the 

13 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 

14 of the Interior shall seek to conclude a memo15 randum of understanding with the State of 

16 California and the Salton Sea Authority to co17 ordinate Federal and State activities relating to 

18 the construction, operation, and maintenance of 

19 Federal Salton Sea Management Acres and 

20 Salton Sea Management Program activities. 

21 Such memorandum of understanding shall in22 clude a schedule delineating the timeframe for 

23 the accomplishment of the establishment of 

24 Salton Sea Management Acres and consider25 ation of the effects of such memorandum of unVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:31 Nov 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8775.IH H8775

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1 derstanding on affected disadvantaged commu2 nities. 

3 ‘‘(B) ACCESS.—The Secretary of the Inte4 rior shall make Federal lands within the Salton 

5 Sea available to the State of California for ac6 tivities under the Salton Sea Management Pro7 gram and the State Water Board Order and 

8 shall give priority to such activities. 

9 ‘‘(4) STATE RESPONSIBILITIES.—Nothing in 

10 this section shall modify the State of California’s re11 sponsibilities or associated timelines under the State 

12 Water Board Order. 

13 ‘‘(5) SUPPORT FROM THE SECRETARY OF AGRI14 CULTURE.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall, in 

15 issuing funding or other types of support under such 

16 authority as is available to such Secretary, prioritize 

17 support and funding to assist the Secretary of the 

18 Interior in fulfilling the responsibilities described in 

19 this subsection. 

20 ‘‘(6) DELEGATION TO THE STATE OF CALI21 FORNIA.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the 

23 Interior may delegate such Secretary’s respon24 sibilities under this subsection to the State of 

25 California through a cooperative agreement or 


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1 other contractual agreement only upon the pro2 vision by such Secretary to the State of ade3 quate Federal funding to assure the require4 ments of this section are met, including funding 

5 for operations and maintenance of Federal 

6 Salton Sea Management Acres. Such Secretary 

7 may award grants to the State for completion 

8 of this responsibility. 

9 ‘‘(B) AGREEMENT PENDING FUNDING NOT

10 RESTRICTED.—Subparagrah (A) shall not be 

11 construed to prohibit the Secretary of the Inte12 rior from entering such an agreement prior to 

13 the provision of such adequate Federal funding. 

14 ‘‘(7) NOT A SPECIAL AQUATIC SITE.—For the 

15 purposes of the construction, operation, and mainte16 nance of Federal Salton Sea Management Acres and 

17 Salton Sea Management Program activities, lakebed 

18 exposed as the Salton Sea recedes shall not be con19 sidered a Special Aquatic Site for the purposes of 

20 determining jurisdiction under section 404 of the 

21 Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344). 

22 ‘‘(8) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary of 

23 the Interior shall report to Congress annually identi24 fying— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the total number of acres under man2 agement by such Secretary or funding provided 

3 to the State of California under paragraph (6); 

4 ‘‘(B) the type of management applied to 

5 Federal Salton Sea Management Acres, and 

6 whether such management is dust suppression 

7 or habitat restoration; 

8 ‘‘(C) if such Secretary has not met such 

9 Secretary’s responsibility under paragraph (1) 

10 over the current three-year period under para11 graph (2), a plan for coming into compliance; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(D) additional funding needed to meet 

14 such obligation. 

15 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 

16 terms have the meaning given to such terms in section 

17 5 of the Salton Sea Public Health and Environmental Pro18 tection Act of 2020: 

19 ‘‘(1) ‘Federal Salton Sea Management Acres’. 

20 ‘‘(2) ‘Salton Sea Authority’. 

21 ‘‘(3) ‘Salton Sea Management Program’. 

22 ‘‘(4) ‘State Water Board Order.’ ’’. 

23 SEC. 3. SALTON SEA MANAGEMENT COUNCIL. 

24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FEDERAL SALTON SEA

25 COUNCIL.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enactVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:31 Nov 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8775.IH H8775

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1 ment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall estab2 lish a Salton Sea Council with the goal of coordinating 

3 interagency Salton Sea projects, expediting permits, co4 ordinating environmental review, streamlining funding of 

5 projects associated with the Salton Sea Management Pro6 gram and Federal Salton Sea Management Acres, and co7 ordinating such goals with the State of California and the 

8 Salton Sea Authority. 

9 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—Council shall consist of the fol10 lowing and shall be chaired by the Secretary of the Inte11 rior: 

12 (1) The Secretary of Agriculture, or a rep13 resentative of such Secretary. 

14 (2) The Secretary of the Army or a representa15 tive of such Secretary. 

16 (3) The Administrator of the Environmental 

17 Protection Agency or a representative of such Ad18 ministrator. 

19 (4) The Commissioner of the Bureau of Rec20 lamation or a representative of such Commissioner. 

21 (5) The Director of the United States Fish and 

22 Wildlife Service or a representative of such Director. 

23 (6) The Director of the United States Geologi24 cal Survey or a representative of such Director. 

25 (c) DUTIES.—The Council shall— 


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1 (1) convene and establish a process for collabo2 ration among the members of the Council, the State 

3 of California, the Salton Sea Authority, local com4 munities, Tribal governments, the South Coast Air 

5 Quality Management District, the Imperial County 

6 Air Pollution Control District, and other persons, in7 cluding holding at least one annual public meeting 

8 at the Salton Sea to receive feedback from local 

9 stakeholders; 

10 (2) develop a Federal funding plan across Fed11 eral agencies with jurisdiction at the Salton Sea to 

12 assist the Secretary in meeting the Salton Sea Man13 agement Acres obligation and associated operations 

14 and maintenance costs; and 

15 (3) identify and implement measures to expe16 dite and streamline Federal permitting of Salton Sea 

17 management undertaken by the State of California’s 

18 Salton Sea Management Program. 

19 (d) PRODUCTION OF REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 

20 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Council shall 

21 submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

22 House of Representatives a report that— 

23 (1) identifies Federal and State funding sources 

24 and previous funding for projects and studies related 


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1 to potentially benefitting or impacting the Salton 

2 Sea; 

3 (2) analyzes how Federal and State funding 

4 sources can be matched or paired to reach acreage 

5 goals; and 

6 (3) identifies additional Federal resources in7 cluding resources for technical assistance and project 

8 permitting assistance that could be applied to the 

9 management of the Salton Sea. 

10 SEC. 4. PUBLIC HEALTH REPORTING REQUIREMENT. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior, in 

12 consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental 

13 Protection Agency, shall publish an annual report on air 

14 quality surrounding the Salton Sea, including an analysis 

15 of the presence of pollutants, salinity levels, and agricul16 tural chemicals present in the exposed lakebed on Federal 

17 lands. Such report shall include— 

18 (1) the change in number of acres of Federal 

19 land that is exposed lakebed and land with respect 

20 to which such Secretary has taken corrective action, 

21 either through habitat restoration or dust suppres22 sion; and 

23 (2) any associated health risks with particulate 

24 matter pollution and any chemicals present. 


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1 (b) POPULATION HEALTH STUDY.—The Secretary of 

2 Interior may partner with a university or research institu3 tion to conduct a long-term population health study on 

4 individuals with extended exposure to the Salton Sea. 

5 (c) ADDITIONAL AIR MONITORS.—The Administrator 

6 of the Environmental Protection Agency shall take such 

7 measures as the Administrator determines necessary to 

8 monitor the air quality in population centers near the 

9 Salton Sea. 

10 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) FEDERAL SALTON SEA MANAGEMENT

13 ACRES.—The term ‘‘Federal Salton Sea Manage14 ment Acres’’ means the Salton Sea exposed lakebed 

15 acres required to be managed by the Secretary of 

16 the Interior for dust control or habitat in consulta17 tion with the State of California and Salton Sea Au18 thority. 

19 (2) SALTON SEA AUTHORITY.—The term 

20 ‘‘Salton Sea Authority’’ means a Joint Powers Au21 thority composed of member agencies including the 

22 Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Tribe, County of 

23 Imperial, the County of Riverside, the Coachella Val24 ley Water District, and the Imperial Irrigation Dis25 trict, established to work in coordination with the 


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1 State of California to oversee the comprehensive res2 toration of the Salton Sea. 

3 (3) SALTON SEA MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.—The 

4 term ‘‘Salton Sea Management Program’’ means the 

5 program created by the State of California to ad6 dress air quality and ecological threats at the Salton 

7 Sea. 

8 (4) SALTON SEA 10-YEAR PLAN.—The term 

9 ‘‘Salton Sea 10-Year Plan’’ means the State of Cali10 fornia’s Salton Sea Management Program Phase 1: 

11 10-year plan to provide for the construction of 

12 30,000 acres of air quality and habitat projects at 

13 the Salton Sea. 

14 (5) STATE WATER BOARD ORDER.—The term 

15 ‘‘State Water Board Order’’ means California State 

16 Water Board Order 2017–0134 entitled ‘‘ORDER 

17 ACCEPTING AND REVISING STATE WATER 

18 BOARD REVISED ORDER WRO 2002–0013’’ 

19 issued on November 7, 2017, establishing Salton Sea 

20 management acre milestones for the State of Cali21 fornia. 

Æ 


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