Environmental Defense Fund, Inc. v. East Bay Municipal Utility District
Opinion
Opinion
Clark, J.
The United States Supreme Court vacated our judgment ( 20 Cal.3d 327 [ 142 Cal.Rptr. 904 , 572 P.2d 1128 ]), and remanded the cause for consideration in light of California v. United States (1978) 438 U.S. 645 [ 57 L.Ed.2d 1018 , 98 S.Ct. 2985 ], involving the doctrine of federal preemption.
Plaintiffs and intervener appeal from judgment of dismissal following the court’s sustaining defendants’ demurrers without leave to amend. We reverse the judgment.
Plaintiffs, three corporations and three individuals, are residents of an area served by defendant East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), a governmental agency. Intervener is the County of Sacramento.
Background
Delivering water to approximately 1.1 million persons in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, EBMUD possesses water rights to 325 million gallons per day (mgd) from the Mokelumne River watershed, its principal source of water. The current average water consumption within EBMUD’s service area is 212 mgd.
In the early 1960s EBMUD determined its Mokelumne River supply would be insufficient to meet the needs of its service area by the year 1985. EBMUD thereupon undertook a wide-ranging search for supplemental…