How locals are fighting to shape SoCal’s Lithium Valley in 2025

The future of lithium extraction in the Imperial Valley is hinging on a lawsuit that could define the conditions for how the industry will roll out.

Last year one company, Controlled Thermal Resources, broke ground on what was the first planned commercial lithium extraction facility in the region, but construction is delayed.

One of Imperial Valley’s long standing community organizations, Comite Civico del Valle, challenged the project in court, saying the environmental review that the County of Imperial carried out violated the California Environmental Quality Act.

The lawsuit marks a growing divide in Imperial Valley between those who want to see the lithium industry up and running as fast as possible and others who say the pace of development should not come at the expense of the environment and nearby communities.

The project, called Hell’s Kitchen, would initiate the transformation of the northern end of Imperial Valley, abutting the Salton Sea’s southeastern shores, into a lithium industry hub come to be known as Lithium Valley.

Lithium, a key ingredient for batteries used in electric vehicles and computers, has become a crucial commodity globally, and with much of it located outside the United States, companies have been racing to develop the technology to exploit the domestic supply. 

Meanwhile Gov. Gavin Newsom set the goal for all new cars in California to be electric by 2035, further underpinning the demand for the metal. 

As for Imperial County residents, who have long struggled with the state’s highest unemployment rates, the vast stores of lithium under the Salton Sea have triggered both hopes and fears. 

While many hope the industry will provide jobs, others worry that the benefits from lithium development will not be distributed equitably.

Here is what to pay attention to in 2025.

The lawsuit

Comite Civico del Valle teamed up with Earthworks, a national nonprofit that advocates for community protections from extractive industries, in a lawsuit against Imperial County after, the advocacy groups say, negotiations over mitigation measures came to a standstill.

In the lawsuit, the organizations raised several concerns: The environmental review the county produced downplayed how much water the project would use the county report claims, without offering any evidence, that the plant would not generate any waste because toxic byproducts would be sold; and the report fails to recommend measures to address tribal concerns such as employing tribal monitors to consult during construction in areas near sensitive cultural resources.

All parties are now awaiting a ruling on the lawsuit from an Imperial County superior court judge.

“We’re waiting any day to hear the court’s decision in regards to the complaint about the environmental impact report on the Hell’s Kitchen project,” said Imperial County Supervisor Ryan Kelley.   Kelley said he believes the suit will be dismissed or result in only minor issues to be addressed. 

Christian Torres, the Director of Climate Equity and Resilience at the Comite Civico del Valle, told inewsource that ultimately they are working to make sure that all impacts and mitigation efforts are written out clearly; otherwise, community advocates will not have the tools to hold the companies and the county accountable to the communities most impacted by the project.

“We still feel like the best way to secure these long term investments for the community is going to be for the companies and the government, for anybody at the table, to put pen to paper so that these communities aren’t left out,” Torres said.

Meanwhile, community advocates are awaiting the completion of documents that will lay out, in some detail, development plans as well as environmental risks for Lithium Valley. After approving the Programmatic Environmental Impact Report and the Specific Plan, the county will be able to fast track lithium industry projects as long as they meet the requirements set out in these documents.

The new coalition

Several organizations across the valley that have been involved in working on lithium-related issues have come together and formed a new organization in hopes of consolidating efforts to vouch for community benefits from the lithium industry.

Valle Unido Por Beneficios Comunitarios, or Valle Unido, “calls on companies pursuing lithium extraction to make binding commitments for a Lithium Valley that guarantees good local jobs, protections against environmental harms, and respect for Indigenous rights.”

The coalition brings together a number of organizations including the Comite Civico, Earthworks, Imperial Valley Equity and Justice, The Becoming Project, UAW-6, ACLU and Jobs to Move America.

“As a community based organization our main concern is the residents,” said Fernanda Vega, from IV Equity, “and that they don’t live in an area where there’s more pollution, and where we are sacrificed for the rest of the world to be part of this so-called just transition.”

Calipatria resident William Cooper says that if the lithium projects start off without the needed mitigation in place, he fears the towns nearest the lithium development area like Niland and Calipatria, which are already economically distressed, will suffer the most.

“My number one fear is that, if it’s not sustainable then these towns that I’m sitting in right now become smokestacks,” said Cooper, who started The Becoming Project, a grassroots group advocating for communities in the lithium development area. “They become industry towns and nothing else.”

Lithium financing

Meanwhile, county leaders say the lawsuit is not only slowing down lithium development, but is creating a more challenging environment for garnering financial backing to develop Lithium Valley.

Speaking to inewsource from a battery industry conference, Supervisor Kelley said competition is rising with more companies interested in producing lithium and related products in the United States.

Lithium Valley, Kelley said, would provide a “secure domestic supply” of lithium, but regulation in California dissuades investors, he said. Leaders in other states such as Arkansas and Texas are persuading companies to start projects in their states where there are less regulations.

“They have a story to say that the regulations in their neck of the woods are not California, and they use us as an example,” Kelley said.

“Two years ago, I think we were probably the lead horse in a nine furlong race. I think that we’ve been caught up.”

Kelley also was involved in trying to secure federal dollars for lithium in Imperial Valley, but to his dismay none came.

“That’s a big head scratcher in my mind,” Kelley said. “We had the support of the governor and state Legislature, and we had a Democrat (presidential) administration with major infrastructure bills being approved and … Lithium Valley specifically received zero of those awards.”

Kelley said that in the coming year he will try again.

A spokesperson for Controlled Thermal Resources said that the lawsuit delayed their funding and construction schedule, echoing Kelley’s claim that investors are moving to states with fewer restrictions.

In the meantime community organizers say that the projects should not be sped to completion at the expense of the community.

“While you’re ramming these things through there are all these considerations that you’re missing,” Cooper said, adding that it’s important to ensure communities impacted by lithium are treated fairly – with respect to environmental, public safety and other concerns – at the outset before the industry develops quickly across the region:

“What they’re doing right now in the north end of Imperial Valley will become the new industry standard. And however its run here is how they’re going to do the next development, and the next small city where the people are ‘uneducated,’ and there’s low jobs and there’s low opportunities,” Cooper said. “They’re going to come and exploit it the exact same way. There is a template that’s been set out for this. We’re just trying to challenge that template, that’s not the only way to achieve the goal that the industry is trying to achieve.”

“You can have something done fast. You can have it done right. But you can’t have it both ways.”