Report urges California panel to deny desalination plant

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A report urges a California coastal panel to deny a proposal to build a $1.4 billion desalination plant that would draw on the ocean to expand water sources in Southern California. Staff for the California Coastal Commission on Monday recommended the panel reject Poseidon Water’s proposal to build the 50 million gallon-a-day facility Huntington Beach. The project is up for discussion before the panel on May 12. The proposal comes as California faces prolonged drought, worsened by climate change, with its nearly 40 million residents heeding repeated calls in recent years to conserve water. Poseidon Water has been running a similar desalination plant in nearby Carlsbad, in San Diego County, since 2015.