Temecula Band of Luiseño Mission Indians v. Rancho California Water District

I.

Introduction

In 1984, defendant Rancho California Water District (the District) conceived a program of pumping and using local groundwater, then recharging the groundwater with rainwater and “imported” (i.e., purchased) water. To comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq.), the District performed an environmental review of the program, and concluded that it would have no significant effect on the environment. Accordingly, the District adopted a negative declaration.

By 1989, the District had completed some of the construction necessary for the program. It decided to begin construction of Pipeline A, which was intended to bring imported water to a recharge area and release it there, to percolate into the groundwater. However, the District also decided to reroute and redesign Pipeline A. To comply with CEQA, the District performed an environmental review of this new project, concluded that it would have no significant effect on the environment, and adopted a second negative declaration.

This time, however, it did so over the opposition of the Temecula Band of Luiseño Mission Indians (the Luiseños). The Luiseños…