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Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) - California Department of ...

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5. Project Description and Objectives<br />

hydrological conditions, and environmental constraints can be characterized as a change in<br />

future conditions under which the proposed project will operate. The proposed project does not<br />

cause these changes to occur. These ongoing and changing conditions and their effect on the<br />

proposed project or the proposed project’s effect on them were discussed in the DEIR in<br />

relevant Sections <strong>of</strong> Chapters 7 and 10. The proposed project would not result in added Delta<br />

diversions above levels permitted at the time <strong>of</strong> diversion. Changing conditions may result in<br />

less water available to the SWP for export and, therefore, fewer impacts than those disclosed in<br />

the DEIR. See <strong>FEIR</strong> Subsection 6.2.2.2 on changing conditions. See also <strong>FEIR</strong> Subsection<br />

14.2.3 on types <strong>of</strong> water and demand and <strong>FEIR</strong> Subsection 7.2.2.1.3 on environmental<br />

compliance.<br />

The EIR Does not Need to Include Broader Objectives<br />

Some comments suggested that the <strong>Department</strong> was obligated to consider project objectives<br />

that would balance contractors’ and environmental objectives or allocate a portion <strong>of</strong> the water<br />

available to the SWP for environmental purposes. Neither the Court in PCL v. DWR nor the<br />

Superior Court’s Order on remand, nor the terms <strong>of</strong> the Settlement Agreement suggests that the<br />

<strong>Department</strong> is obligated to change the basic approach to the SWP to require the <strong>Department</strong> to<br />

consider such broad objectives. Although CEQA requires an agency to consider mitigation<br />

measures and alternatives that would meet its project objectives, it does not require an agency<br />

to examine a project and objectives that are completely different from the one it has chosen to<br />

pursue. See DEIR Subsection 11.2.3 and <strong>FEIR</strong> Subsections 11.2.3 and 11.2.4 for more<br />

discussion on alternatives that were rejected as different projects with different objectives than<br />

those <strong>of</strong> the Monterey Amendment.<br />

As the <strong>California</strong> Supreme Court said in In re Bay-Delta (page 1163), “[T]he process <strong>of</strong> selecting<br />

the alternatives to be included in the EIR begins with the establishment <strong>of</strong> project objectives by<br />

the lead agency. ‘A clearly written statement <strong>of</strong> objectives will help the lead agency develop a<br />

reasonable range <strong>of</strong> alternatives to evaluate in the EIR and will aid the decision makers in<br />

preparing findings…The statement <strong>of</strong> objectives should include the underlying purpose <strong>of</strong> the<br />

project.’” The Supreme Court reaffirmed the directions in Laurel Heights and Citizens <strong>of</strong> Goleta<br />

Valley that the lead agency has the authority and responsibility to initially frame the scope <strong>of</strong> its<br />

proposed purpose and objectives. The lead agency cannot make the objectives so narrow that<br />

there is only one project that meets the objectives. Beyond that caveat, however, the lead<br />

agency is free to limit its proposed objectives to the issues it wants to address and is not<br />

obligated to look at broader issues or concerns. Again in In re Bay-Delta (page 1166), the court<br />

said that although “…a lead agency may not give a project’s purpose an artificially narrow<br />

definition, a lead agency may structure its EIR alternative analysis around a reasonable<br />

definition <strong>of</strong> underlying purpose, and need not study alternatives that cannot achieve that basic<br />

goal. For example, if the purpose <strong>of</strong> the project is to build an oceanfront resort hotel …or a<br />

waterfront aquarium…. a lead agency need not consider inland locations.”<br />

Although the <strong>Department</strong> is the lead agency, the <strong>Department</strong> cannot make a unilateral decision<br />

because the proposed project involves changes to a contract, i.e., the long-term water supply<br />

contract, and requires the concurrence <strong>of</strong> the other contracting parties. Even if the <strong>Department</strong><br />

could unilaterally impose changes <strong>of</strong> the nature suggested by the comments or the <strong>Department</strong><br />

and the contractors could mutually change the water supply contracts in a way that would<br />

allocate or leave more water for the environment, CEQA does not require the <strong>Department</strong> to<br />

consider or make these changes within the context <strong>of</strong> this EIR. The <strong>Department</strong> has chosen in<br />

this EIR to keep the objectives limited to ones that deal with issues and conflicts between and<br />

among the <strong>Department</strong> and the contractors and leave resolution <strong>of</strong> broader issues relating to<br />

<strong>Final</strong> <strong>Environmental</strong> <strong>Impact</strong> <strong>Report</strong> February 2010<br />

Monterey Plus 5-5

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