El Dorado County Taxpayers for Quality Growth v. County of El Dorado

In this action under the California Environmental Quality Act (Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq. (CEQA)), El Dorado County Taxpayers for Quality Growth, Friends of Placer County Communities, Inc., and Steven Proe (plaintiffs) appeal from a judgment denying their petition for writ of mandate. In their petition, plaintiffs sought to overturn a decision of the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors (County). That decision approved a reclamation plan for a mining operation run by Spreckels Limestone Products Company (now Cool Cave Quarry, Inc.; hereafter Spreckels). County found that the reclamation plan would not have a significant effect on the environment, and consequently approved the plan based on a negative declaration.

Plaintiffs argue generally that the reclamation plan project required an environmental impact report (EIR) rather than a negative declaration. Specifically, plaintiffs contend (1) the project description in the initial study and negative declaration fails to describe the whole project, including its mining aspect; (2) the initial study and negative declaration improperly analyze only the reclamation aspect of the project divorced from its mining…