This report, published by Comité Cívico del Valle and Earthworks, examines the Hell’s Kitchen direct lithium extraction project proposed by Controlled Thermal Resources near the Salton Sea. The report highlights key environmental and public health concerns, including water contamination, air quality degradation, hazardous waste disposal, threats to tribal cultural resources, and insufficient protections for local communities. While lithium holds global importance as a building block of renewable energy storage and batteries for electric vehicles, the report warns that development at the Salton Sea must be carefully managed to avoid long-lasting harm to local communities.
Key findings include:
- Water Risks: Lithium extraction from geothermal brines could impact both water quality and availability, requiring robust and independent monitoring.
- Air Quality: Dust and other emissions threaten to worsen already dangerous air conditions in Imperial Valley.
- Waste Streams: The project will create significant quantities of solid waste containing hazardous materials including lead and arsenic.
- Tribal Cultural Resources: The project is located within the Southeast Lake Cahuilla Active Volcanic Cultural District, a tribal cultural landscape that includes sacred sites.
- Insufficient Benefits: Without enforceable commitments, local communities may see little economic benefit from lithium development despite shouldering the risks.
The report calls for a comprehensive safeguard framework that includes independent monitoring, enforceable commitments, and meaningful mitigation, such as a Community Environmental Impact Fee based on the project’s water usage. These fees will be used to fund environmental mitigation projects in local communities. The report calls for the administration of these funds to be conducted by a Joint Powers Authority made up of the communities of Bombay Beach, Brawley, Westmorland, Niland, and Calipatria, with the establishment of a community advisory committee to make recommendations. Such a process will ensure meaningful tribal consultation with dedicated funding for cultural resource protection, water conservation, and air pollution reductions to ensure lithium development advances local clean energy goals without creating new burdens for already overburdened communities.
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