A proposal that would fund clean water, traffic, and healthcare projects in the Coachella Valley advanced in the House on Wednesday.

The office of Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz announced that the House passed a six-bill funding package for FY23 on Wednesday. The bill includes over $16 million in investments for projects that will benefit the 36th District, which includes the Coachella Valley, as well as the Salton Sea.

Some of the major projects that could be funded includes, $2.5 million for two new Indian Canyon bridges, $1.5 million to reconstruct and widen the Monroe Street interchange on the I-10, $3.5 million for a new water main in the east valley, and $1.2 million to reduce outages in the east valley.

“With this vote in the House, we are one step closer to bringing home millions of dollars in federal funding that will benefit projects throughout our communities,” said Dr. Ruiz. “Today’s funding package includes the bold investments I advocated for to advance critical projects that will drive economic development and strengthen our infrastructure from Hemet to Coachella to Blythe and many cities in between.”

The funding package includes provisions authored by Ruiz to push the Bureau of Reclamation to partner with local actors on projects that mitigate the impacts of the shrinking Salton Sea. His office also announced that he secured an over $1 billion funding increase for the "Indian Health Services from FY22.“

"Additionally, I am glad that the House passed my priorities to bolster the federal response to the crisis at the Salton Sea and fulfill our trust responsibilities to Tribal nations by increasing funding for the Indian Health Service,” continued Dr. Ruiz. “I will continue working to get this legislation signed into law to improve the lives of my constituents, improve health outcomes, and boost our local economy.”

Today’s legislation includes funding for the following projects:

City of Indio – Interstate 10 and Monroe Street Interchange $1.5 million for the Interstate 10 (I-10) and Monroe Street Interchange Project to reconstruct and widen the Monroe Street interchange on the I-10 freeway. The project would reconstruct and widen the freeway on- and off-ramps at the I-10/Monroe Street Interchange and replace the Monroe Street overcrossing of I-10 and the Coachella Valley Stormwater Channel on the Whitewater River to accommodate additional through lanes, turn lanes, and connections to the Coachella Valley Link—a 50-mile planned mixed-use/recreational trail project that crosses and connects eight cities in the Coachella Valley with alternative forms of transportation and recreation.

City of Desert Hot Springs – Bridges Over Water Project $2.5 million to construct two new bridges over low water crossings. These two bridges would be along Indian Canyon Drive. These two bridges would help mitigate flooding, blow sand hazards, and prevent road closures during and after rain events. The proposed bridges will also help maintain accessibility within and out of the City for drivers and pedestrians, including the ability to access hospitals, schools, pharmacies, grocery stores, gas stations, and residences.

Coachella Valley Water District – Valley View Mobile Home Park Water Consolidation Project $3.5 million to install new water mains along Airport Blvd, Filmore Street, Avenue 55, and Desert Cactus Drive to consolidate nine small water systems into Coachella Valley Water District potable water system: Luciano Valenzuela, Vista Norte Estates, Valley View MHP, Desert View MHP, Magdaleno Lopez, Campos MHP, Meza’s Ranch, De Leon Ranch, and Soto Water. These nine systems will have a total of 135 connections, which will serve approximately 675 residents within disadvantaged communities. These small water systems are currently using private wells that have reported Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for arsenic and/or fluoride in their drinking water leading to poor water supply reliability. This project would go directly towards getting disadvantaged communities access to safe, and reliable drinking water.

SunLine Transit (Thousand Palms) – Public Fueling Station $2.5 million to upgrade its 350-bar hydrogen public station to include a 700-bar fueling capability for light (personal vehicles) and heavy-duty (truck) vehicles effectively helping to transition the station to dispense hydrogen. The system would consist of the main skid, dispenser and heat exchanger, communication lines, and storage. Providing a public outlet for hydrogen with significant capacity will encourage the transition to EVs.

Imperial Irrigation District – Mecca and North Shore Energy Infrastructure Resiliency Project $1.2 million to reduce energy service interruption resulting from outages often caused by extreme weather events such as high winds and rainstorms. The project will expand grid resiliency and community confidence after recent recurring outages have caused hardship to residents.

Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians – Dillon Road Corridor $2.7 million to reconstruct and widen a principal arterial roadway through Tribal lands in Riverside County. Specifically, funds will be used for the design and construction of a 0.7-mile corridor to widen a two-lane road to six driving lanes with bicycle and low-speed electric vehicle lanes in each direction. This will ultimately accommodate future growth from Cabazon Road to the north of the Interstate 10 (I-10) freeway.

Morongo Band of Mission Indians – Fire Station $1 million for the construction of a new fire station on the Morongo Indian Reservation. The project includes the construction of a building to house fire engines and a second firehouse equipped with office space, sleeping quarters, and kitchen space. The current Morongo Fire Station is more than 30 years old and is not properly equipped to support its current staff. The new fire station would bring the Morongo Fire Department into compliance with National Fire Protection Association standards and improve emergency response times by as much as 3.5 minutes.

City of Hemet – Water Main Replacement $1.2 million to replace an aging transmission line from Park Hill’s tank site to the City’s distribution system. The existing transmission line is experiencing failures due to deterring pipe material. This would ensure the city’s capability to deliver safe, potable, and reliable water from the water tanks to the distribution system. Having a reliable water delivery system is crucial for fire prevention for the community that the City of Hemet’s water utility serves. SAC Health (Blythe, CA) – Bus Station $150,000 to build an all-weather bus bench/shelter and pave the parking lot in front of their new SAC Health Blythe location. At the request of the Inland Empire’s managed Medi-Cal plan, Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP), SAC Health opened a Federally Qualified Health Center site in Blythe to serve the expansion due to the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) initiative. This funding would allow individuals to safely access SAC Health through both public and private transportation.

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