County of Inyo v. City of Los Angeles

In County of Inyo v. City of Los Angeles (1977) 71 Cal.App.3d 185, the Court found the City's first EIR legally insufficient as it failed to provide "an accurate, stable and finite project description." Specifically, the report's truncated project description was limited to a discussion of increased pumping designed for in-valley use and excluded increased subsurface extractions for export to Los Angeles. We also held the first EIR deficient as it failed to provide discussion of all reasonable alternatives to the project; specifically, it failed to provide a genuine "no project" alternative in the form of a "tangible, foreseeably effective plan for achieving distinctly articulated water conservation goals within the Los Angeles service area." (71 Cal.App.3d at p. 203.) The Court limited the subject matter of this litigation to the measurement of the legal sufficiency of an EIR respecting the projected increase in subsurface drawdown in the Owens Valley. However, in "deliberate dictum," we rejected any implication that the City's compliance with the writ in this case would necessarily constitute the "full measure" of the City's CEQA imposed obligations relating to its water management activities, and expressed our willingness to review the legal sufficiency of the City's environmental report on subsurface extraction within an EIR of larger scope should the City elect to do so. (71 Cal.App.3d at pp. 204-205.)