STATE WATER RESOURCES CONTROL BOARD
RESOLUTION NO. 99 – 117

CERTIFICATION, PURSUANT TO THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT OF: (1) THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WATER QUALITY CONTROL PLAN FOR THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY/SACRAMENTO-SAN JOAQUIN DELTA ESTUARY (SCH #97-1220056) AND (2) THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR CONSOLIDATED AND CONFORMED PLACE OF USE (SCH #97-122042)

 

WHEREAS:

 

A. REGARDING THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WATER QUALITY CONTROL PLAN FOR THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY/SACRAMENTO-SAN JOAQUIN DELTA ESTUARY

 

1. The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) is the lead agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Public Resources Code § 21000 et seq.) in connection with its water right proceeding to (1) implement water quality objectives for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta estuary; (2) consider a petition to change points of diversion of the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project in the southern Delta; and (3) consider a petition to change places of use and purposes of use of the Central Valley Project.

 

2. On May 22, 1995, the SWRCB adopted the Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary (1995 Bay-Delta Plan or Plan), which establishes objectives for the protection of municipal, agricultural, and fish and wildlife beneficial uses in the Bay-Delta Estuary. The 1995 Bay-Delta Plan was adopted by the SWRCB pursuant to Water Code § 13170.

 

3. The SWRCB complied with the requirements of CEQA at Public Resources Code § 21080.5 and at Title 14, California Code of Regulations (CCR), §15251(g) when it adopted the 1995 Bay-Delta Plan. Appendix 1 of the 1995 Bay-Delta Plan designated as the Environmental Report, contains the CEQA documentation for the 1995 Bay-Delta Plan. The Environmental Report for the 1995 Bay-Delta Plan constitutes a programmatic document upon which subsequent environmental documents can be tiered.

 

4. On July 27, 1995, the SWRCB filed a Notice of Preparation (NOP) of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the development of a water right decision to implement the water quality objectives in the 1995 Bay-Delta Plan (Bay-Delta EIR).

 

5. The purpose of the Bay-Delta EIR is to disclose and analyze the significant adverse environmental effects of alternative methods for implementing the water quality objectives in the 1995 Bay-Delta Plan and to identify, where appropriate, ways to avoid, reduce, or compensate for environmental damage. The Bay-Delta EIR, in Chapter XIII, also addresses a joint petition filed by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) requesting the SWRCB to amend the water right permits of the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project (CVP) to allow each project to use the other project's point of diversion in the southern Delta. The Bay-Delta EIR is tiered upon the Environmental Report for the 1995 Bay-Delta Plan.

 

6. The Bay-Delta EIR analyzes alternative actions for implementing the 1995 Bay-Delta Plan and the environmental impacts of those alternatives. Most of the potential actions implement one group of objectives independently of actions to implement other groups of objectives. As a result, many combinations of actions could be taken to implement the 1995 Bay-Delta Plan. The Final EIR does not identify a preferred alternative, but rather categorizes the objectives into groups and identifies various “sets” of alternatives that could be taken to implement each group of objectives.

 

7. Public workshops were held on four days in August, September, and November 1995. Based on comments received at these workshops indicating that the NOP did not provide sufficient project detail, a revised NOP was issued in December 1995. During 1996, nine additional days of workshops were held to discuss issues arising from the revised NOP. The SWRCB staff convened a technical workshop on March 18, 1997, to review the analytical methods being used to calculate water availability when water right priorities are used to implement the 1995 Bay-Delta Plan flow objectives (Flow Alternatives 3 and 4).

 

8. The Draft Bay-Delta EIR, consisting of three volumes, was circulated for public review on December 15, 1997. Interested parties were given until April 1, 1998, to submit comments.

 

9. On May 26, 1998, the SWRCB issued a supplement to the Draft Bay-Delta EIR. The purpose of the supplement was (a) to include the provisions of the San Joaquin River Agreement as an alternative for implementing the flow objectives in the 1995 Bay-Delta Plan and (b) to correct errors in the original modeling of Flow Alternative 5. The supplement was circulated for a 45-day review period with comments due by July 13, 1998.

 

10. The SWRCB received 104 comment letters on the Draft Bay-Delta EIR and the supplement, representing the comments of 125 parties. The letters have been available since July 1998 for review in their entirety on the SWRCB website[1].

 

11. The Final Bay-Delta EIR was transmitted to interested parties on November 15, 1999. The Final Bay-Delta EIR consists of three volumes: the Final Bay-Delta EIR (Volume 1), Technical Appendices (Volume 2), and Response to Comments on the Draft Bay-Delta EIR (Volume 3).

 

12. In response to comments on the Draft Bay-Delta EIR, the SWRCB revised some of the analyses, added new analyses and provided additional information on some of the previous analyses.

 

13. No new significant impacts were identified in the Final Bay-Delta EIR as a result of these analyses or any other changes to the Draft Bay-Delta EIR.

 

14. The Final Bay-Delta EIR identifies the significant environmental impacts of the project and identifies feasible mitigation. The Final Bay-Delta EIR responds to significant environmental points raised in the review and consultation process under CEQA.

 

15. The Final Bay-Delta EIR and other evidence will be considered by the SWRCB in deciding whether to adopt decisions and orders to implement the 1995 Bay-Delta Plan.

 

16. The Final Bay-Delta EIR has been completed in compliance with CEQA.

 

17. The Final Bay-Delta EIR has been presented to the SWRCB, and the SWRCB has reviewed and considered the information contained in the Final Bay-Delta EIR prior to adopting a decision under the project.

 

18. The Final EIR reflects the SWRCB's independent judgment and analysis.

 

B. REGARDING THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR THE CONSOLIDATED AND CONFORMED PLACE OF USE (CPOU) (SCH # 97-122042)

 

1. On July 29, 1986, the SWRCB gave notice of a petition to change a number of water right permits of the USBR for the CVP. The petition sought to: (1) conform the purposes of use in the permits, (2) consolidate the authorized place of use so that water from a particular CVP facility may be delivered consistent with current integrated operations, and (3) increase the authorized place of use depicted in the individual permits by including encroachment lands and expansion lands[2].

 

2. On December 1, 1986, the SWRCB filed a Notice of Preparation for an Environmental Impact Report on the CPOU petition.

 

3. On December 11, 1997, the SWRCB distributed a Draft CPOU EIR on the pending petition. Interested parties were provided 45 days to submit comments.

 

4. The Draft CPOU EIR is a project level document with respect to the encroachment lands. It is programmatic with respect to the expansion lands. Additional environmental documentation will be required before the SWRCB can approve the expansion lands as authorized CVP places of use.

 

5. As part of Phase 7 of the Bay-Delta Water Rights Hearing, the SWRCB provided the public an opportunity to submit evidence and testimony regarding the Draft CPOU EIR.

 

6. The Final CPOU EIR was transmitted to interested parties on November 15, 1999. The Final CPOU EIR included comments and response to comments received on the Draft CPOU EIR.

 

7. Based on comments and evidence received in the hearing, the place of use maps contained in the Draft CPOU EIR were substantially revised. The Final CPOU EIR does not identify any new significant impacts. Overall, the revised maps result in reduced environmental impacts compared to those identified in the Draft.

 

8. The significant environmental effects of supplying CVP water to the encroachment lands are identified in the Final CPOU EIR. Measures to mitigate for the historic delivery of water to the encroachment lands are identified in the Final CPOU EIR.

 

9. The Final CPOU EIR has been completed in compliance with CEQA.

 

10. The Final CPOU EIR has been presented to the SWRCB, and the SWRCB has reviewed and considered the information contained in the Final CPOU EIR prior to approving the project.

 

11. The Final CPOU EIR reflects the SWRCB's independent judgment and analysis.

 

THEREFORE IT IS RESOLVED THAT:

 

The SWRCB certifies that the Final EIR for Implementation of the Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary and the Final EIR for the Consolidated and Conformed Place of Use comply with the requirements of the CEQA (Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq.).

 

CERTIFICATION

 

The undersigned Administrative Assistant to the SWRCB does hereby certify that the forgoing is a full, true, and correct copy of a resolution duly and regularly adopted at a meeting of the SWRCB held on December 29, 1999.

 

 

 

/s/

Maureen Marché

Administrative Assistant to the Board

 

 

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