Planning and Conservation League v. Department of Water Resources

In this case we consider the sufficiency of the environmental review of the Monterey Agreement, a statement of principles to be incorporated into an omnibus revision of the long-term contracts between the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and local water contractors governing the supply of water under the State Water Project (SWP). The Monterey Agreement was the culmination of negotiations among DWR and six local water contractors to settle disputes arising under article 18 of the long-term contracts. The agreement contemplated revisions in the methodology of allocating water among contractors and changes in the operation of certain SWP facilities, including the transfer of the Kern Fan Element, one of eight elements comprising a subsurface reservoir, the Kern Water Bank, from DWR to designated contractors. The contractors agreed to have one of their own, the Central Coast Water Authority (CCWA), serve as the lead agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). (Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq.)

In the underlying mandamus and validation proceedings, two citizens groups and a public agency challenged the selection of CCWA as the lead agency and the…