Miller Starr Regalia opines that in two opinions filed May 10, 2016 (one partially and the other fully published), the Fourth District Court of Appeal rejected a number of CEQA and other challenges to a project proposing to pump 50,000 acre-feet of groundwater per year for a 50-year period from a Mojave Desert aquifer in the County of San Bernardino. The Project, proposed by a public-private partnership between lead agency Santa Margarita Water District and the overlying landowner, Cadiz, Inc. seeks to beneficially use and prevent the loss of groundwater, some portion of which would otherwise drain to two dry lakes where it would evaporate or become unpotable brine. The fresh water pumped from the aquifer would be conveyed through 43 miles of underground pipeline to the Colorado River Aqueduct, which would then transport it to supply a number of Southern California Water agencies and users.
The first opinion rejected CEQA challenges to a Memorandum of Understanding related to the Project brought in an action filed by a business entity that would be harmed by its operation. (The second published opinion, which will be the subject of a subsequent post, upheld the Project EIR and lead agency designation against CEQA challenges brought by a number of environmental groups.)
In Delaware Tetra Technologies, Inc. v. County of San Bernardino (4th Dist., Div. 3, 2016) Cal.App.4th, 2016 WL Case No. G050858), the Court of Appeal rejected a CEQA challenge (and, in the unpublished portion of its opinion, challenges based on County local groundwater management ordinance and the common law) to the County resolution authorizing a memorandum of understanding among the County, Cadiz, SMWD, and Fenner Valley Mutual Water Company relating to the Project.
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