The Imperial Irrigation District has filed a CEQA challenge to Imperial County's Big Rock 2 Cluster Solar and Storage Project,
According to the IID's action, Imperial County approved the nearly 2,000 acres project on December 9, 2025. The District maintains there was inadequate review and analysis of potential impacts associated with the project. In particular, the IID contends that the environmental review does not adequately evaluate how the projects's land conversion and reduction in water use may contribute to reduced Salton Sea inflows. The district also says that the county failed to asses the cumulative effects of similar solar development in the region, According to the IID, there are now more that 13,000 acres of actively farmed agricultural land in solar development with another 11,000 acres of solar prjects entitled or under development and nearly 3,400 acres with projects pending. IID Board Chairwoman Karin Eugenio said. " The conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural uses sacrifices the core of our rural community for short-term construction jobs simply to generate energy that will be exported from Imperial Valley with little to no long-term benefits for our residents. At the very least, these projects should do their part to mitigate their impacts, large or small, at the Salton Sea, so as not to exacerbate environmental and public health challenges in the region".
The Imperial County Planning Commission had unanimously opposed the project before the Board of Supervisors approved the plan.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires proposed large-scale projects are approved only after environmental impacts carefully analyzed and considered and, if necessary, mitigation measures adopted.
