Approval of a Resolution for Participation in the Delta Conveyance Project and Execution of Financing & Implementation Agreements

2020110300

Alameda County Water District (ACWD)

NOE - Notice of Exemption

11/18/2020

11/18/2020

Robert Shaver

Alameda County Water District

Lead/Public Agency

43885 S. Grimmer Blvd.
Fremont, CA 94538

(510) 668-4202

robert.shaver@acwd.com

The Resolution and the activity it approved has no specific location as it does not entail construction, development, or any other activity that could potentially result in a significant environmental impact. The Resolution does not in any way approve or commit the District to a Delta Conveyance Project, which the Department of Water Resources (“DWR”) is still analyzing and considering. DWR anticipates that, if approved, a future Delta Conveyance facility might span portions of Sacramento, Yolo, San Joaquin, Contra Costa, and/or Solano counties.

Other

State CEQA Guidelines sections 15060(c)(3), 15378(a), (b)(2)(4)(5); State CEQA Guidelines section 15061, subd. (b)(3)

The District’s approval of the Resolution does not qualify as a “project” subject to CEQA because it constitutes (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, §§ 15060(c)(3).) Moreover, the approval of the Resolution does not qualify as a “project” because it does not have a potential to result in either a direct, or reasonably foreseeable indirect, physical change in the environment. (State CEQA Guidelines, § 15378(a).) Alternatively, the District’s approval of the Resolution is statutorily exempt from CEQA under State CEQA Guidelines section 15262, as the Resolution concerned “feasibility or planning studies for possible future actions [that] the agency … has not approved, adopted, or funded.” (State CEQA Guidelines, § 15262.) Notably, although the Resolution provides for some funding for the environmental planning costs associated with the Delta Conveyance Project, it provides for no funding for the construction of the Delta Conveyance Project, nor does it otherwise commit the District to the Delta Conveyance Project. Furthermore, the District’s approval of the Resolution is exempt from CEQA under the common sense exemption set forth in State CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3), as it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment. None of the exceptions to this exemption identified in CEQA Guidelines § 15300.2 exist here.

Statutory Exemption

State CEQA Guidelines section 15262

The District’s approval of the Resolution does not qualify as a “project” subject to CEQA because it constitutes (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, §§ 15060(c)(3).) Moreover, the approval of the Resolution does not qualify as a “project” because it does not have a potential to result in either a direct, or reasonably foreseeable indirect, physical change in the environment. (State CEQA Guidelines, § 15378(a).) Alternatively, the District’s approval of the Resolution is statutorily exempt from CEQA under State CEQA Guidelines section 15262, as the Resolution concerned “feasibility or planning studies for possible future actions [that] the agency … has not approved, adopted, or funded.” (State CEQA Guidelines, § 15262.) Notably, although the Resolution provides for some funding for the environmental planning costs associated with the Delta Conveyance Project, it provides for no funding for the construction of the Delta Conveyance Project, nor does it otherwise commit the District to the Delta Conveyance Project. Furthermore, the District’s approval of the Resolution is exempt from CEQA under the common sense exemption set forth in State CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3), as it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment. None of the exceptions to this exemption identified in CEQA Guidelines § 15300.2 exist here.