Two prominent former California Democratic lawmakers who oversaw environmental legislation, U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer and state Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, have signed on to lobby for a controversial desalination plant in Huntington Beach. For nearly two decades, the plant proposed for a Pacific Coast Highway site next to an existing Huntington Beach power generating facility has faced strong opposition from community and environmental groups. It is one of eight desalination plants currently proposed in the state, including at coastal properties at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point and near the El Porto area adjacent to El Segundo.