In 1997, the Department of Interior's Bureau of Reclamation completed a 2-yr study to restore the Salton Sea.

The proposal was based on the separation of the lake into two lakes, one to be restored [salinity lowered to 3000 ppm] and the other to be converted to a hypersaline lake [with salinities exceeding 100,000 ppm].

The project was not approved by the U.S. Congress, who argued that the Department of Energy had not been properly consulted.