Delta Conveyance Project Agreement
Summary
SCH Number
2020110273
Public Agency
Coachella Valley Water District
(CVWD)
Document Title
Delta Conveyance Project Agreement
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
11/17/2020
Present Land Use
various
Document Description
The Delta Conveyance Project's (DCP or project) primary objective is to protect the State Water Project's (SWP) ability to continue to reliably deliver water south of the Delta. CVWD is a member agency of the SWP contractors.
Additional objectives include making the SWP more resilient to the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events, minimize the impacts from earthquakes ( delivery quantity and quality), and providing SWP operational flexibility to improve aquatic conditions and better manage risks of additional future regulatory constraints on project operations. In order to help improve the reliability of its imported water supply, CVWD has agreed to participate with the State Department of Water Resources (DWR) development of the Delta Conveyance Project.
Contact Information
Name
Ivory Reyburn
Agency Name
Coachella Valley Water District
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Name
Agency Name
Coachella Valley Water District
Contact Types
Project Applicant
Location
Counties
Imperial, Riverside, San Diego
Cross Streets
CVWD's service area within the counties of Riverside, San Diego, and Imperial
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Ministerial
Type, Section or Code
Sec. 21080(b)(1); 15262
Reasons for Exemption
Approval of these actions are not subject to CEQA for multiple reasons. These actions do not qualify as a "project" subject to CEQA because the actions constitute: ( 1) continuing administrative or maintenance activities, such as general policy and procedure making; (2) government fiscal activities that do not involve any commitment to any specific project that may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment; and (3) organizational or administrative activities of a public agency that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment (State CEQA Guidelines §15378).
The recommended actions do not constitute project approval by CVWD of the DCP, nor do the actions authorize or approve construction of the DCP. The recommended actions do not authorize or commit the CVWD or DWR to expenditure of the funding on any site-specific project. In addition, the recommended actions do not authorize or approve any actions by the DCA or DWR that may cause direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect environmental impacts. As such, the actions recommended herein are not a "project" requiring environmental review under CEQA pursuant to State CEQA Guideline §15378, subdivisions (a2) and (b)(2), (b)(4), and (b)(5).
Second, even were the actions to be considered a CEQA "project," these actions would be statutorily exempt from environmental review pursuant to State CEQA Guideline §15262 because the actions merely call for the funding and completion of feasibility and planning studies, not including the completion of CEQA review itself.
Third, the actions are exempt under the "common sense" exemption in State CEQA Guidelines §15061, subdivision (b )(3) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the actions may have a significant effect on the environment. None of the exceptions to the use of the "common sense" exemption as identified in State CEQA Guidelines §15300.2 exist with the recommended actions
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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