Banning, Beaumont, Coachella Valley Clean Water Projects Funded

BEAUMONT, CA —The U.S. House of Representatives passed a $10 million spending package to expand access to health care, bring clean water to the Eastern Coachella Valley, and drive economic growth in the 36th District.

The ten-item package championed by area Congressman Raul Ruiz, MD includes $1.5 million for Beaumont’s Pennsylvania Widening Project.

Beaumont City Manager Todd Parton discussed the expansion project for the Pass area.

"These improvements will enhance access and help alleviate traffic congestion along I-10," Parton said. "This would not be possible without the tireless efforts of Congressman Ruiz. With his assistance, one of the area’s most vital retail centers will continue to flourish while much-needed traffic relief is provided to area residents. Additionally, Beaumont will be able to reallocate our local dollars to other critical projects that benefit our community as well as the region."

Beaumont’s project is in the final approval process and will soon expand Pennsylvania Avenue from two lanes to four lanes from Sixth Street to First Street and include protected dual left turns from northbound Pennsylvania Ave to westbound Sixth Street.

Including in the funding are ten projects that will directly benefit residents in the 36th district, including:

• $1.25 million for the City of Banning to fund a wastewater treatment facility equalization basin at the current facility to protect the environment from overflows caused by large surges in demand primarily driven by extreme weather. Banning relies on water pumped from underground aquifers, so this project will protect the groundwater from being contaminated during overflows where wastewater seeps into the ground.
• $2.7 million for Coachella Valley Water District to fund the Avenue 66 Clean Water Project. This will aid the construction of a new water transmission line that will bring water access to a disadvantaged area that currently relies on unreliable independent water systems, mostly wells that need to remove naturally occurring arsenic from the water.
• $1.5 million for the City of Beaumont to fund the expansion and widening of Pennsylvania Avenue between 1st Street and 6th Street from its current two lanes to four lanes. The widening of Pennsylvania Avenue will provide increased mobility and access to residents of Beaumont and Banning, and employees of businesses in the area.
• $500,000 for the City of Blythe to fund the replacement of an existing 500,000-gallon water reservoir servicing the Palo Verde College and surrounding neighborhood with a new, bolted steel water tank of similar capacity. This water tank is the sole source of fire protection and safe, clean, and reliable drinking water for the College and nearby neighborhoods.
• $500,000 for the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition to fund the rehabilitation and renovation of their Development and Service Center. This 17,000 square foot facility serves the low-income residents of the Coachella Valley by providing services including credit counseling; homebuyer education; self-help homeownership opportunities; after-school programs and scholarships for low-income youth; community gardens; and English and citizenship classes.
• $1 million for the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians to fund the construction of public facilities required to facilitate the construction of the 10-acre Soboba Crossroads shopping center in San Jacinto. This project will bring an estimated 100 permanent jobs, enhanced local services, increased tax revenues, support for public services, and new opportunities for business growth.
• $1 million for the Clinicas de Salud del Pueblo to fund the expansion of the Blythe Health Center from 5,766 square feet to 13,768 square feet which will allow the center to accept roughly 6,000 additional patients per year, including the addition of behavioral health and dental services. This project expands health care access in a low-income, rural community through an FQHC which provides health care services regardless of a patient’s ability to pay.
• $1 million for Loma Linda University Health Center to fund the construction and furnishing of a new 8,000 sq foot FQHC in the Coachella Valley. According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, over 96,000 low-income individuals did not receive care through an FQHC in the Coachella Valley, including the growing number of individuals experiencing homelessness through the ongoing pandemic. The project will provide convenient access to health care for populations throughout CA-36 regardless of the individual’s ability to pay.
• $350,000 for Palo Verde Hospital District to assist with the acquisition of a fully integrated mobile health unit with telehealth services. This mobile clinic will serve patients within 25 miles of Blythe. The region this project serves has high poverty rates and is a health provider shortage area for primary care, dental, and mental health care.
• $200,000 for the Salton Sea Authority to fund the first phase of the investigation into the “Imperial Streams, Salton Sea, and Tributaries” Army Corps project which Dr. Ruiz secured in the Water Resources Development Act of 2020. This project will contribute to the habitat and ecosystem restoration at the Salton Sea, which is a growing public health crisis in Southern California.

Ruiz discussed the passage and what it means to his district.

“I am thrilled to see the House pass the $10 million in federal funding that I secured to bring new health care resources to Blythe, economic development to San Jacinto, infrastructure improvements to the Pass Area, and clean drinking water access to the Eastern Coachella Valley,” Ruiz said. “In addition, I’m thrilled to see the House pass funding that’ll launch an Army Corps of Engineers project at the Salton Sea, which will strengthen our all-hands-on-deck approach to this environmental and public health crisis. Once signed into law, this funding will bring incredible value to our communities, grow our local economy, and make a positive difference in the lives of my constituents.”

Read more: at ruiz.house.gov.