Voices for Rural Living v. El Dorado Irrigation District

Defendant El Dorado Irrigation District (EID) entered into an agreement to provide water to a casino located on tribal land held by real party in interest Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians (the Tribe). EID determined the agreement was exempt from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq.; CEQA) pursuant to a categorical exemption for small construction projects. EID made this finding even though the agreement called for it to provide significantly more water than it had provided previously to the land.

EID also determined the agreement was not subject to certain conditions limiting the amount of water it could provide to the tribal land that were imposed years earlier by the El Dorado County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) when the land was first annexed into EID. The agreement called for providing significantly more water than the annexation *1100 conditions allowed. EID determined the annexation conditions were unconstitutional, and, relying upon that determination, approved the agreement and its obligation to provide quantities of water that greatly exceeded those allowed by the…