-October 15,2022-
from CAL MATTERS
After rejecting a controversial proposal in Huntington Beach, the state Coastal Commission greenlights another in Dana Point. While environmentalists raised concerns, the commission calls it a well-planned project.
The California Coastal Commission today green-lit a $140 million desalination plant in south Orange County’s Dana Point, a pivot from its unanimous rejection in May of another controversial desalination project in the county.
The decision indicates that state regulators see a place for new seawater desalination plants in California to bolster water supplies, particularly for coastal areas with few water sources of their own.
“We believe that the project before you today, although not perfect, provides a solid example that we can use in planning for future desalination,” Kate Huckelbridge, a senior deputy director, told the Coastal Commission.
The South Coast Water District’s Doheny Ocean Desalination project, which the commission unanimously approved, would help serve the district’s roughly 35,000 residents