San Diego’s water board gave final approval Wednesday for construction of the largest water desalination plant in the Western hemisphere.
The $320 million project proposed by Poseidon Resources could come online by 2012 in Carlsbad and produce 50 million gallons of drinking water a day, or 10 percent of the supply for San Diego County.
The Connecticut-based company secured a key permit from the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board.
“It’s been six years of permitting, 14 public hearings and over 70 hours of public testimony and debate,” company vice president Scott Maloni said.
The pressure to find new sources of clean water has been increasing with drought conditions and as traditional sources across California are becoming more unreliable.
Environmental groups have fought the Poseidon plant, arguing its intake valve would kill marine life.
On Tuesday, however, a judge ruled against a lawsuit by the Surfrider Foundation and Planning and Conservation League aimed at stopping the project.
The groups had sued the California Coastal Commission after it approved construction of the plant.
The groups contended the commission failed to require the developer to reduce damage to marine life, but the judge noted the panel had required Poseidon to restore 55 acres of wetlands. (Get The Full Story…)
Popularity: 9% [?]
May 28th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
hey this is a very interesting article!