Desalination Plant Blocked by California Coastal Commission

Plans to build a desalination plant in southern California have been halted after a state coastal commission vote denied a construction permit to developer Poseidon Water.

The 11-0 vote by the California Coastal Commission on Thursday is a blow to the more than two-decades-long construction attempt by Poseidon Water, a subsidiary of the multinational Brookfield Asset Management Inc. Poseidon’s plan was backed as a solution to drought conditions by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), US Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and other elected officials in the state.

“This was not the decision we were hoping for today,” Poseidon said in a ...