Temporary Urgency Change Petition of Water Right Permits 12947A, 12949, 12950, and 16596
2 Documents in Project
Summary
SCH Number
2021050266
Public Agency
Sonoma County Water Agency
Document Title
Temporary Urgency Change Petition of Water Right Permits 12947A, 12949, 12950, and 16596
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
6/15/2021
Document Description
Sonoma County Water Agency filed temporary urgency change petitions with the Division of Water Rights on May 14, 2021. The petitions request temporary reductions to instream flow requirements to address the severe drought conditions in the Russian River and low reservoir storages in Lake Mendocino and Lake Sonoma.
Contact Information
Name
Jane Ling
Agency Name
State Water Resources Control Board
Contact Types
Responsible Agency
Address
Phone
Location
Counties
Mendocino, Sonoma
Other Location Info
The Upper Russian River (from its confluence with the East Fork of the Russian River to confluence with Dry Creek) and the Lower Russian River (downstream of confluence with Dry Creek).
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Emergency Project
Type, Section or Code
Sec. 21060.3; 21080(b)(4); 15269(b)(c)
Reasons for Exemption
The Governor proclaimed a drought emergency in Mendocino and Sonoma counties due to drought conditions in the Russian River Watershed on April 21, 2021. The Governor’s Drought Emergency Proclamation ordered the State Water Board to consider specific actions to “ensure adequate, minimal water supplies for critical purposes.” Information provided by Sonoma Water demonstrates that continued releases of water to maintain minimum instream flows required by Sonoma Water’s current water right permit terms could cause storage levels in Lake Mendocino and Lake Sonoma to decline to unsafe levels. If storage in Lake Mendocino is depleted, there will be serious water supply impacts to human health and safety, and water will not be available to protect aquatic life, including threatened and endangered species in the Russian River. Furthermore, Sonoma Water states that increasing Lake Sonoma releases to maintain instream flow requirements under current permit terms could harm critical endangered species habitat in Dry Creek, and that the resulting depletion of Lake Sonoma could also affect drinking water supplies and other critical water uses if dry conditions persist into 2022. Approval of the requested changes is therefore necessary to prevent and mitigate loss of, or damage to, the environment, fishery resources, property, public health and safety, and essential public services. Accordingly, the project is statutorily exempt from CEQA because it is necessary to prevent or mitigate an emergency—in this case, a proclaimed drought emergency—that poses a clear and imminent danger. (Pub. Resources Code, §§ 21060.3 & 21080, subd. (b)(4); Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, § 15269, subd. (c).)
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Sec. 15301
Reasons for Exemption
A Class 1 categorical exemption “consists of the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use.” (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, § 15301.) The proposed action consists of the operation of existing facilities involving negligible or no expansion of use beyond that existing, and accordingly is categorically exempt from CEQA under a Class 1 exemption.
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Sec. 15307
Reasons for Exemption
A Class 7 categorical exemption “consists of actions taken by regulatory agencies as authorized by state law or local ordinance to assure the maintenance, restoration, or enhancement of a natural resource where the regulatory process involves procedures for protection of the environment.” (Id., § 15307.) The proposed action will ensure the maintenance of a natural resource (i.e., the instream resources of the Russian River) by increasing availability and improving the quality of salmonid rearing habitat in the Russian River and more closely mimicking natural inflow to the estuary, thereby enhancing the potential for maintaining a seasonal freshwater lagoon that could support increased production of juvenile steelhead. Accordingly, these changes are categorically exempt from CEQA pursuant to a Class 7 exemption.
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Sec. 15308
Reasons for Exemption
A Class 8 categorical exemption “consists of actions taken by regulatory agencies, as authorized by state or local ordinance, to assure the maintenance, restoration, enhancement, or protection of the environment where the regulatory process involves procedures for protection of the environment.” (Id., § 15308.) The proposed action will ensure the maintenance of the environment (i.e., the instream environment of the Russian River) in the same way as stated for the Class 7 categorical exemption, and the proposed temporary changes are also therefore categorically exempt under Class 8.
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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