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Judge Vilardi rejects DWR’s 2009 drought water bank approval

Posted by: Maven on March 18, 2010 at 7:32 am

From the California Water Impact Network (C-WIN):

“Pleasanton, CA – Alameda County Superior Court Judge Alice Vilardi on Monday, March 15, 2010, ruled that the Governor and the California Department of Water Resources illegally approved the 2009 Drought Water Bank when they “improperly” exempted the water transfer program from the California Environmental Quality Act last year.

Governor Schwarzenegger’s February 2009 “drought emergency” proclamation, while asserting an emergency, failed to declare “that there was a disaster, or identify a specific geographically described disaster-stricken area” as California law requires. Nothing in the proclamation, said the judge, provided “substantial evidence of a sudden, unexpected occurrence, involving a clear and imminent danger, demand immediate action to prevent or mitigate loss of or damage to life, health, property, or essential public services” and only cited possible consequences “months or years in the future.” Because the Governor’s proclamation also didn’t waive CEQA requirements and actually directed DWR to protect the environment, the court ordered the agency to comply with CEQA even though the project is over. … “

Continue reading this media statement from C-WIN by clicking here.

March 18, 2010 · Filed Under Transfers

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