Community Engagement

The communities surrounding the Lithium Valley are small, rural communities that are considered disadvantaged and underserved with majority Latin population. These areas suffer from a combination of high poverty rates, high unemployment rates, and high incidences of asthma.

Therefore, it is a priority of the Imperial County Board of Supervisors to ensure that community and environmental impacts are mitigated, and that benefits are achieved for the residents and communities in and around Lithium Valley. Some ways to achieve these benefits is through community enhancements, increasing access to higher educational opportunities, and expanding vocational and technical development of the necessary workforce.

Over the past few years, the County of Imperial has been actively engaging with stakeholders, including community-based organizations, industry representatives, governmental entities, and academia professionals, in formal and informal settings, to develop a plan that will promote and facilitate economic development while addressing the needs of the community. Some of the organizations that have participated in the discussions regarding this potential development, impacts, and preferred outcomes have been:

Alianza Coachella Valley, Amigos de la Comunidad, Audubon California, BHE Renewables, CalEnergy, California Energy Commission, City of Brawley, City of Calipatria, Coalition of Labor, Agriculture, and Business, Comite Civico del Valle, Inc., Controlled Thermal Resources, EnergySource Minerals, Imperial Irrigation District, Imperial Valley College, Imperial Valley Economic Development Corporation, Office of Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, Salton Sea Authority, San Diego State University, University California Riverside