“I wanted to come back to the Imperial Valley early in my tenure in the Senate to underscore how important this community is for me, people are going to be seeing a lot of me here… Imperial Valley is every bit as deserving of vigorous representation as any other part of California, and the needs are greater.”
Key Excerpts:
On ensuring the community benefits from lithium extraction:
In a separate interview with the Calexico Chronicle, Sen. Schiff described the feedback from the meeting as “enormously valuable” and agreed with the environmental organizations that the people of Imperial County should not be left behind when the profits of lithium extraction begin.
“One of my goals is to make sure once this lithium extraction effort goes forward, that the wealth that is generated by the production of lithium is to the benefit of the community here, those resources are not simply taken out of the community, the people benefit it in form of good jobs, good services, we deal with air-quality problems,” Schiff said.
On the Salton Sea’s harmful impacts on community health:
Schiff addressed the issue of high asthma rates in the Imperial Valley, particularly with the particulate emanating from the Salton Sea.
“The enormous impact its having on people’s health, the particulate matter in the air that is blowing off the dry lake bed, one of the folks in the meeting today told me the incredible prevalence of different respiratory conditions here compared to the general population of the state is five to 10 times higher and it’s particularly acute among young people, and we’ve got to deal with that, bring a sense of urgency to the task,” Schiff said.
On his commitment to meet the needs of the Imperial Valley community:
Schiff promised to continue his commitment of visiting the Imperial Valley to learn how to better represent it and support it during his time as senator.
“I wanted to come back to the Imperial Valley early in my tenure in the Senate to underscore how important this community is for me, people are going to be seeing a lot of me here, I think,” Schiff said.“ Imperial Valley is every bit as deserving of vigorous representation as any other part of California, and the needs are greater. I’m excited to represent this area, and the people I’ve met here are super friendly and hospitable.”
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As part of a promise that U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff made to Imperial Valley community organizers during his 2023 Senate campaign stop, Schiff returned to the region to learn about the community’s needs and meet with local environmental and social justice groups.
In between trips to the Salton Sea and the California Mid-Winter Fair, the California Democrat sat down with representatives of Comite Civico del Valle, San Diego and Imperial County Labor Council, Planned Parenthood, Imperial Valley Equity and Justice Coalition and several others on Sunday, March 2.
The closed-door meeting between Schiff and the local organizations tackled several issues and upcoming projects critical to the Imperial Valley, most notably lithium extraction. The boost to the Imperial Valley’s economy that lithium extraction is purported to bring is welcomed by most, but many raised concerns about whether the profits from extraction would return to the community.
Essentially, Schiff heard the same concerns the groups gathered have been voicing to local government officials for many months.
Kim Palacio, lead field and campaign organizer with the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, expressed such concerns for the future of Lithium Valley.
“We want Lithium Valley to happen, we want prosperity in the region to grow, but we want to really make sure that the senator, among other people, have the interest of the community. We don’t want to be ripped off and have companies from outside come in and basically (pillage) our resources, take the lithium and run,” Palacio said in a phone interview after the roundtable with Schiff. “He emphasized that he really wants to make sure we get the resources and attention we need and deserve.”
With already existing concerns about the trajectory of Lithium Valley, more obstacles have been created due to the recent federal funding freeze enacted by President Trump and his administration. Jose Luis Olmedo, executive director of Comite Civico del Valle, raised the concern of the federal funding freeze, which many others echoed.
“The tone of the meeting was certainly one of collaboration, one of coming together and working together to strengthen and work for the most vulnerable and highest at risk, recognizing these are very uncertain times,” Olmedo said after the meeting. “It doesn’t matter your ethnicity, your color, your religion, or sexual orientation, as a community that depends heavily on federal subsidies, we are going to face considerable harm to our local economy, our local businesses, our entire population is going to feel it one way or the other.”
In a separate interview with the Calexico Chronicle, Sen. Schiff described the feedback from the meeting as “enormously valuable” and agreed with the environmental organizations that the people of Imperial County should not be left behind when the profits of lithium extraction begin.
“One of my goals is to make sure once this lithium extraction effort goes forward, that the wealth that is generated by the production of lithium is to the benefit of the community here, those resources are not simply taken out of the community, the people benefit it in form of good jobs, good services, we deal with air-quality problems,” Schiff said.
“I didn’t walk away thinking this is a (political) party conversation; this is about helping our community that (Schiff) recognizes, despite the fact he represents the entire state of California, he understands we’ve been marginalized in this state, from a federal perspective,” Olmedo said.
Schiff also acknowledged the additional attention that the Northend communities, such as Calipatria, Niland and Bombay Beach require due to their proximity to the extraction sites under development. “I think it’s really important that as the project moves forward, that they (Imperial County government officials) continue to get input from the community and that there’s a mechanism to ensure that revenue derived from the program goes to the Northend to improve the quality of healthcare, transportation and other necessary infrastructure.”
Schiff made his push for federal support clear to the organizations in attendance. In addition to federal funding and lithium extraction, healthcare was a topic of discussion.
Victoria Lara, past president of Planned Parenthood Generation Action at San Diego State University Imperial Valley, attended the meeting, asking Schiff to ensure that Planned Parenthood patients can continue to have access to Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid healthcare program. Lara noted that about 90 percent of Planned Parenthood patients in California rely on Medi-Cal for access to healthcare and services such as birth control, STD testing, gender affirming care and much more, highlighting the need for the program.
“He was definitely on board and went as far as to broaden the scope, and he mentioned how he’s dedicated to supporting not only Planned Parenthood but the issue of reproductive rights in general, especially with the Dobbs decision a couple of years back, he expressed his support for ensuring that reproductive care is still available to us, he was very reassuring on the matter,” Lara said.
She noted how healthcare issues in the Imperial Valley are intertwined, whether it be reproductive rights or bringing attention to high asthma rates that affect everyone, and “how collaboration between all these agencies and community partners is so important to make sure we are addressing these issues on all fronts.”
Schiff addressed the issue of high asthma rates in the Imperial Valley, particularly with the particulate emanating from the Salton Sea.
“The enormous impact its having on peoples health, the particulate matter in the air that is blowing off the dry lake bed, one of the folks in the meeting today told me the incredible prevalence of different respiratory conditions here compared to the general population of the state is five to 10 times higher and it’s particularly acute among young people, and we’ve got to deal with that, bring a sense of urgency to the task,” Schiff said.
Schiff promised to continue his commitment of visiting the Imperial Valley to learn how to better represent it and support it during his time as senator.
“I wanted to come back to the Imperial Valley early in my tenure in the Senate to underscore how important this community is for me, people are going to be seeing a lot of me here, I think,” Schiff said. “Imperial Valley is every bit as deserving of vigorous representation as any other part of California, and the needs are greater. I’m excited to represent this area, and the people I’ve met here are super friendly and hospitable.”
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