Thankful for an EJ Holiday
Comite Civico del Valle has a lot to be thankful for. It’s been a phenomenal year for those of us who work in environmental and social justice, and when we gather with those close to us, we consider what’s important.
Recently, two of the biggest milestones of the year in local environmental justice came to pass – seeing Imperial County release its request for proposals for the Salton Sea Renewable Resource Health Impact Assessment tied to lithium extraction around the Salton Sea, and the Blue Ribbon Commission on Lithium Extraction moving forward its report toward the Legislature before by Dec. 1.
Both are huge accomplishments for the environmental justice community and for Comite Civico del Valle, which has advocated for the health of disadvantaged communities in Imperial County since we were a neighborhood organization fighting for farmworkers nearly 35 years ago.
Comite Civico has stayed true to its roots and its mission, but we have added to our focus as community watchdogs, and part of environmental justice’s involvement in Lithium Valley is a result of the historical context of industry’s entrance into a community. Organizations like ours have always championed the underrepresented and have been among the last consulted. Conversely, industry has usually had influence and the ability to come in and dictate terms.
While the Lithium Valley process is far from any finish line, it’s been refreshing being part of the inclusive process on the Lithium Valley Commission, where government, environmental justice, and industry have coexisted to make decisions that have seemed to be heading toward the people’s best interest.
A transparent lithium industry has the potential to be transformative to communities around the Salton Sea. And the per-ton tax revenue that could flow back to Imperial County can do much good. But that’s not to say this is some ringing endorsement. We have questions, as do many in the environmental justice community, and we expect more answers. That said, I want to expand on recent Lithium Valley developments, and why they are important.
An ask at the start of this was that a health impact assessment be paid for by the state. Without an exhaustive CEQA process for every project planned for, the agreement was that a detailed health impact assessment would be the trade-off. It’s not a perfect arrangement, but it’s the devil you know. With the assessment, potential effects on people will be studied, whereas CEQA focuses on ecosystems.
Seeing the RFP released on Nov. 14 was gratifying. Imperial County Public Health Department is leading the process and will do a fine job in selecting a qualified firm for the study.
No less important was seeing the Lithium Valley Commission finish its report on extraction on Nov. 17. It’s been an important experience to be one of two members of the environmental justice community – and the advocate of the fence-line Imperial Valley communities – on the commission.
We’ve come together as members of EJ, government and industry and have worked collaboratively. But CCV is environmental justice, on the side of disadvantaged communities. It was without question that some of my colleagues and I were committed to ensuring, for one, the definition of Lithium Valley was to remain “Imperial Valley,” not to exclude but to prevent broad interpretation. That’s significant so that cities near the proposed projects could be identified as high-impact sites.
Indirectly related, the idea that a per-ton tax was established with SB 125 this year is amazing. We are thankful at Comite Civico, along with our partners in the Lithium Valley Community Coalition. For the most part, it was widely supported around the Valley. Of course, many in the geothermal/lithium industry did not want it and still don’t. We expect attempts to use the offramps afforded by SB 125 to shorten the tax’s life.
The work done by the commission, the EJ community, and various stakeholders that have put aside any disagreements to work collectively to see how far we can move Lithium Valley has been nothing short of trailblazing. An important takeaway from this is the process is being seen as a blueprint for other areas of the country and other parts of the world.
What’s happening right here in the Imperial Valley is the new norm of accountability and inclusion for the environmental justice community in the face of industry. For that, we should be thankful.