Protect the Historic Amador Waterways v. Amador Water Agency

In this mandamus case, plaintiff Protect the Historic Amador Waterways challenged the environmental impact report (EIR) defendant Amador Water Agency (Agency) certified for a project that would replace the 130-year-old Amador Canal with a pipeline. The Agency acknowledges that “leakage from the Amador Canal contributes to the surface flow of water in local streams” and that putting the water from the canal into a pipe will reduce the summer flows in those streams, including a significant reduction in the south fork of Jackson Creek. Nonetheless, the Agency concluded in its EIR that this reduction in stream flow would not constitute a significant effect on the environment within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA; Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq.) The superior court denied plaintiff’s petition, finding the Agency had complied with CEQA and its conclusion was supported by substantial evidence.

On appeal, plaintiff contends the Agency “abused its discretion when it concluded that modifying the hydrology of local creeks from perennial to intermittent surface flows (i.e., drying local streams during the late summer and early fall) due to the…