Santiago County Water Dist. v. County of Orange

In Santiago County Water Dist. v. County of Orange (1981) 118 Cal.App.3d 818, the County of Orange approved an EIR prepared to examine the consequences of permitting a mining company to operate a sand and gravel mining operation. The EIR contained no information concerning the environmental effects of supplying water to the project. The County of Orange nonetheless found the EIR complete and adequate and approved a site permit for the sand and gravel project. The court noted that the EIR did not include "facts from which to evaluate the pros and cons of supplying the amount of water that the mine will need." (Id. at p. 829.) Instead, the EIR simply indicated the amount of water required for the project and explained that "the County Water District has indicated their ability to supply the water." (Id. at p. 830.) The court found this explanation "insufficient to allow the EIR to fulfill its informational purpose. The EIR must contain facts and analysis, not just the bare conclusions of a public agency." (Id. at p. 831.) Though the EIR acknowledged that there would be "increased demand upon water available from the Santiago County Water District," what was required was "some information about how adverse the adverse impact will be." (Ibid.) Since the EIR contained no meaningful discussion of the environmental impacts of supplying water to the project, the court held the EIR was inadequate. (Ibid.)