Project EIR

Poseidon Resources is pleased to announce that the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the Carlsbad Desalination Project and can be viewed here.

The Carlsbad Desalination Project benefited from over seven years of environmental research and study and a 396-day California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process culminating in the City of Carlsbad’s unanimous approval of the Project’s Environmental Impact Report (EIR) in 2006.

The desalination project’s environmental review process commenced in May 2004 with the Notice of Preparation (NOP) that began a 30-day period in which the City sought comments from the public to help determine the issues analyzed in the EIR. After the environmental research was compiled, a draft of the report was released for public comment in May 2005, followed by a comprehensive process that included input from over sixty interested individuals and organizations.

The desalination plant is one of the most important water infrastructure projects in San Diego history. Poseidon has been working with the City of Carlsbad since 1998 on a public-private partnership to construct a 50 million gallon per day (MGD) plant at the site of the Encina Power Station. The plant is scheduled to be completed as early as 2010, and will produce enough drinking water to serve 300,000 residents annually.

The environmental review for the project is based on extensive studies that have shown the project is an environmentally responsible solution to the region’s water needs. The Final EIR does not identify any significant, unavoidable impacts for both the construction and on-going operation of the plant related to thirteen different areas studied including noise, traffic, growth-inducement, air and water quality, land use, public utilities and natural resources. The EIR was independently prepared by consulting firm Dudek & Associates, Inc. for the City of Carlsbad.

Those interested in reviewing the desalination project can find a copy of the EIR by clicking here.