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Imperial Valley Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia Highlights The Shrinking Salton Sea

By Brooke Ruth / Senior Producer, Radio News
Published March 20, 2017 at 8:04 AM PDT
Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia, D-Coachella, urges lawmakers to approve his measure to place a $3 billion bond measure on the November ballot that would pay for improvements at state and local parks, June 23, 2016. The Assembly approved the measure on a 55-14 vote sending it to the Senate.
Associated Press
Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia, D-Coachella, urges lawmakers to approve his measure to place a $3 billion bond measure on the November ballot that would pay for improvements at state and local parks, June 23, 2016. The Assembly approved the measure on a 55-14 vote sending it to the Senate.

Imperial Valley Assemblyman Garcia Highlights The Shrinking Salton Sea
Imperial Valley Assemblyman Garcia Highlights The Shrinking Salton Sea GUEST: Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia, D-Coachella
State lawmakers and state agency representatives look at an area that once was covered by water from the Salton Sea, March 16, 2017. The sea in the distance.
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State lawmakers and state agency representatives look at an area that once was covered by water from the Salton Sea, March 16, 2017. The sea in the distance.
Brooke Ruth
State Sen. Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, speaks with Wade Crawford, the Water Foundation's chief executive officer, while touring an area that was once covered by water from the Salton Sea, March 16, 2017.
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State Sen. Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, speaks with Wade Crawford, the Water Foundation's chief executive officer, while touring an area that was once covered by water from the Salton Sea, March 16, 2017.
Brooke Ruth
Bruce Wilcox, assistant secretary of Salton Sea policy for the California Natural Resources Agency, speaks with an attendee of a tour of the Salton Sea, March 16, 2017.
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Bruce Wilcox, assistant secretary of Salton Sea policy for the California Natural Resources Agency, speaks with an attendee of a tour of the Salton Sea, March 16, 2017.
Brooke Ruth
Frank Ruiz, Audubon California’s Salton Sea director, speaks to state lawmakers and state agency representatives at a tour of the Salton Sea, March 16, 2017.
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Frank Ruiz, Audubon California’s Salton Sea director, speaks to state lawmakers and state agency representatives at a tour of the Salton Sea, March 16, 2017.
Brooke Ruth
Wade Crawford, the Water Foundation's chief executive officer, and Jose Flores, a teacher at Brawley Union High School, discuss the impacts of the shrinking Salton Sea on public health, March 16, 2017.
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Wade Crawford, the Water Foundation's chief executive officer, and Jose Flores, a teacher at Brawley Union High School, discuss the impacts of the shrinking Salton Sea on public health, March 16, 2017.
Brooke Ruth
Adrian Jaime, a senior at Brawley Union High School, speaks to state lawmakers and state agency representatives during a tour of the Salton Sea, March 16, 2017
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Adrian Jaime, a senior at Brawley Union High School, speaks to state lawmakers and state agency representatives during a tour of the Salton Sea, March 16, 2017
Brooke Ruth
Bruce Wilcox, assistant secretary of Salton Sea policy for the California Natural Resources Agency, and Wade Crawford, the Water Foundation's chief executive officer, speak about the receding Salton Sea and restoration efforts, March 16, 2017.
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Bruce Wilcox, assistant secretary of Salton Sea policy for the California Natural Resources Agency, and Wade Crawford, the Water Foundation's chief executive officer, speak about the receding Salton Sea and restoration efforts, March 16, 2017.
Brooke Ruth
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Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia was one of the hosts of a tour of the Salton Sea area for state lawmakers and representatives of state agencies on Thursday — the same day the state released a 10-year management plan for the sea.

The sea is the state's largest lake and is located in Imperial and Riverside counties. The lake is shrinking and thus exposing playa or lakebed, which becomes airborne dust when the wind blows.

The 10-year Salton Sea management plan lays out a timeline for building habitat on exposed playa and for dust suppression projects. The plan is expected to cost $383 million. About $300 million of it is not yet funded.

Under a long-standing water transfer agreement the water district in Imperial County, the Imperial Irrigation District, puts mitigation water in the sea. This is going to end at the end of the year, thus speeding up the shrinking of the sea.

Assemblyman Garcia spoke to Midday Edition while on the tour of the Salton Sea, that interview will air on Monday.

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Brooke Ruth
Brooke Ruth is the senior producer for KPBS Radio News. She previously served as a producer for "KPBS Midday Edition" and a web producer. Before joining KPBS, Brooke was a web editor for four newspapers and a local television station. She began her career in news at the Imperial Valley Press. She has also been part of the web teams at the Napa Valley Register, North County Times, and U-T San Diego. While pursuing her undergraduate degree at UCLA in psychology, she worked on the student newspaper, the Daily Bruin.
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