Supreme Court of California

In a case involving whether a final program environmental impact statement/environmental impact report (PEIS/R) for the CALFED Program failed to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), a ruling finding that the PEIS/R failed to comply with the Act is reversed where: 1) CALFED properly applied the rule of reason when it decided to consider in the PEIS/R only alternatives that have the potential to both achieve ecosystem restoration goals and meet current projected water export demands, and that will provide balanced progress in all four of the program areas without including a reduced exports alternative; 2) the PEIS/R complied with CEQA by identifying potential sources of water and analyzing the associated environmental effects in general terms; and 3) the PEIS/R complied with CEQA in analyzing the impacts of the Environmental Water Account in general terms and deferring project-level details to subsequent project-level EIR's.

Appellate Information

• Decided 06/05/2008
• Published 06/05/2008

Judges

• KENNARD, J.

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Brenda Washington Davis,Rebecca Dell Sheehan, Sacramento, John R. Weech, Ronda Azevedo Lucas for Plaintiffs and Appellants Don Laub, Debbie Jacobsen, Ted Sheely and California Farm Bureau Federation., Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Christopher H. Buckley, Jr., Alan Neal Bick, Irvine, and Christeon J. Constanzo for Plaintiff and Appellant California Farm Bureau Federation., Nomellini, Grilli & McDaniel, Dante John Nomellini, Sr., Daniel A. McDaniel, Dante John Nomellini, Jr., Stockton;  Thomas M. Zuckerman;  and John Herrick, Stockton, for Plaintiffs and Appellants Central Delta Water Agency, R.C. Farms, Inc., Zuckerman-Mandeville, Inc., Rudy Mussi and South Delta Water Agency., Brian E. Gray;  Kerr & Wagstaffe, James M. Wagstaffe, Michael J. von Loewenfeldt and Keith K. Fong, San Francisco, for Plaintiff and Appellant Regional Council of Rural Counties., Best Best & Krieger and Roderick E. Walston, Walnut Creek, for California Chamber of Commerce, California Municipal Utilities Association and Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce as Amici Curiae on behalf of Plaintiffs and Appellants., Rossmann and Moore, Antonio Rossmann, Roger Moore, David R. Owen, Palo Alto;  Hamilton Candee, San Francisco, Katherine S. Poole;  and Thomas J. Graff, Oakland, for the Planning and Conservation League, Natural Resources Defense Council and Environmental Defense as Amici Curiae on behalf of Plaintiffs and Appellants., Weston Benshoof Rochefort Rubalcava & MacCuish, Edward J. Casey and Tammy L. Jones, Los Angeles, for The Association of California Water Agencies as Amicus Curiae.


• For Appellees:
  
• Bill Lockyer and Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorneys General, Manuel M. Medeiros, State Solicitor General, Tom Greene and Janet Gaard, Chief Assistant Attorneys General, J. Matthew Rodriquez, Assistant Attorney General, Daniel L. Siegel, Danae J. Aitchison, Gordon B. Burns, Virginia A. Cahill and Peter Southworth, Deputy Attorneys General, for Defendants and Respondents State of California, Joseph Graham Davis, California Resources Agency, Mary S. Nichols, California Environmental Protection Agency, Winston H. Hickox, Department of Water Resources, Thomas Hannigan, Patrick Wright, CALFED Bay-Delta Program and Department of Fish and Game., Timothy N. Washburn;  Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger and Ellen J. Garber, San Francisco, for Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents State of California, Joseph Graham Davis, California Resources Agency, Mary S. Nichols, California Environmental Protection Agency, Winston H. Hickox, Department of Water Resources, Thomas Hannigan, Patrick Wright, CALFED Bay-Delta Program and Department of Fish and Game., Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe, Nicholas W. van Aelstyn, San Francisco, Patricia K. Olver and Alissa B. Kolek for The Nature Conservancy as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents State of California, Joseph Graham Davis, California Resources Agency, Mary S. Nichols, California Environmental Protection Agency, Winston H. Hickox, Department of Water Resources, Thomas Hannigan, Patrick Wright, CALFED Bay-Delta Program and Department of Fish and Game., Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard, Clifford W. Schulz, and Eric N. Robinson, Sacramento, for Real Parties in Interest and Respondents State Water Contractors, Kern County Water Agency and Tulare Lake Basin Water Storage District., Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard, Daniel J. O'Hanlon, William T. Chisum and Jon D. Rubin, Sacramento, for Real Party in Interest and Respondent Westlands Water District., Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, Kevin T. Haroff;  Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, Kevin T. Haroff, San Francisco, and Olive Lee Thaler for Real Party in Interest and Respondent Santa Clara Valley Water District., Jeffrey Kightlinger, Sydney B. Bennion, Karen L. Tachiki, Linus S. Masouredis, Oakland, and Adam C. Kear for Real Party in Interest and Respondent The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California., Hatch & Parent and Lisabeth D. Rothman, Los Angeles, for California Building Industry Association, Building Industry Legal Defense Foundation, Homebuilders Association of Northern California, Building Industry of San Diego and California Business Properties Association as Amici Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents State of California, Joseph Graham Davis, California Resources Agency, Mary S. Nichols, California Environmental Protection Agency, Winston H. Hickox, Department of Water Resources, Thomas Hannigan, Patrick Wright, CALFED Bay-Delta Program and Department of Fish and Game and Real Parties in Interest State Water Contractors, The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and Westlands Water District., Somach, Simmons & Dunn, Stuart L. Somach, Andrew M. Hitchings and Nicholas A. Jacobs, Sacramento, for Real Party in Interest and Respondent Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District., O'Laughlin & Paris and Tim O'Laughlin for Interveners and Respondents.