VI. Comments on Proposed Decision
The proposed decision of the ALJ in this matter was mailed to the parties in accordance with Pub. Util. Code § 311(d) and Rule 77.1 of the Rules of Practice and Procedure. Comments were filed on ____________________, and reply comments were filed on ________________.
1. By Resolution W-4154, the Commission ordered Valencia to prepare an updated WMP to enable the Commission and all interested parties to evaluate the effects of further expansion of Valencia's service area on its water supply.
2. On December 17, 1999, Valencia responded to Resolution W-4154 by filing its application seeking approval of its updated WMP.
3. Protests to the application were filed by Sierra Club, Ventura, and the Commission's Water Division.
4. On March 20, 2000, Valencia filed AL 88 seeking authority to expand its service area to include portions of two land developments known as North Valencia Annexation 2 and Mountain View.
5. On September 19, 2000, Valencia filed AL 90, requesting permission to extend service to two additional developments, West Creek and Tesoro del Valle.
6. On October 19, 2000, D.00-10-049, the Commission ruled that CEQA is applicable to the WMP together with ALs 88 and 90 and ordered Valencia to file a PEA addressing the service area expansions proposed in the advice letters and reflected in the WMP, and also to submit copies of EIRs relating to the advice letters and evidence of final local agency actions relating to those EIRs.
7. On November 13, 2000, Valencia filed the required PEA and submitted EIR materials for each of the four underlying land development projects, and separately filed a motion for review and approval of ALs 88 and 90 in this proceeding, concurrently with its action on the WMP.
8. An assigned Commissioner's ruling issued December 21, 2000, confirmed the Commission's intent to consider ALs 88 and 90 in conjunction with the WMP and to conclude this proceeding with a single Commission decision addressing both substantive issues and CEQA review.
9. An ALJ's ruling issued May 11, 2001 noted that Commission staff had found the PEA to be complete for CEQA purposes for each of the four development projects Valencia seeks to serve by the pending advice letters, and set further hearings on the advice letters and to allow updating of the record related to the WMP.
10. Further prepared direct and rebuttal testimony was served in advance of two additional days of evidentiary hearings held in mid-June, 2001.
11. The proceeding was submitted for decision upon the filing of opening and reply briefs on August 27, 2001.
12. The WMP evaluates water supply and demand for the entire Santa Clarita Valley as well as for Valencia.
13. The WMP describes the primary sources of water supply available to Valencia as being groundwater from the Alluvial and Saugus aquifers, imported water from the SWP and potentially other supplies acquired through CLWA, and recycled water.
14. The WMP describes the role of firming water supplies in providing alternative short-term supplies when the availability of SWP water is reduced.
15. For estimating future demand, the WMP relies primarily on the projections of Valley-wide and company-specific water demand provided by Los Angeles County's DMS and on projections of growth in its own customer demand based on historical growth trends.
16. For the practical planning and management purposes of a retail water utility, use of the DMS for estimating future demand is more appropriate than use of a scenario that assumes total build-out of the Santa Clarita Valley to the fullest extent permitted by the relevant General Plans.
17. The DMS projections and Valencia's own historic trend of growth in demand provide consistent results indicating total demand for Valencia's services of approximately 32,000 AFY by the year 2010.
18. Water purveyors including Valencia customarily rely on DMS data as providing a reliable basis for estimating demand growth within the time frame appropriate for water system management and planning purposes.
19. Valencia's forecast of demand based on a 0.60 AFY annual usage factor for single-family residential customers is conservative and consistent with Commission-approved estimating methods.
20. Valencia's water reliability goal is to have sufficient supplies available to meet normal water demand in 19 out of 20 years while anticipating a maximum allowable supply shortage in one year of 10% of demand.
21. Diversity of water supply is beneficial in times of drought.
22. Perennial yield of an aquifer is that amount of groundwater that can be pumped from the aquifer over a long period of time without causing an undesirable result.
23. The record indicates that pumping from the Alluvial Aquifer has been and continues to be within the aquifer's perennial yield and that the aquifer is not and has not been in overdraft.
24. The management practice of Valencia and other local water purveyors is to maximize use of the Alluvial Aquifer in combination with imported SWP supplies in normal years while keeping the Saugus aquifer full and available for use during dry years.
25. The WMP's estimates of water supply available from the Alluvial Aquifer, in a range of 32,500 to 40,000 AFY, are consistent with current management practices and well within the aquifer's perennial yield.
26. The WMP's estimate of base water supply available from the Saugus Formation, in a range of 11,000 to 20,000 AFY, are consistent with current management practices and supported by recent experience.
27. The WMP's estimate that up to 30,000 AFY above the lower estimate of base water supply is available from the Saugus Formation as short-term firming supply in up to three consecutive dry years is supported by expert analysis.
28. Improper disposal of ammonium perchlorate at the Porta Bella property resulted in detection of perchlorate contamination in four production wells in the Saugus Formation.
29. Perchlorate has not been detected in any municipal Alluvial Aquifer production wells.
30. Valencia, the other local water purveyors, CLWA, the property owner, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are all actively involved in efforts to characterize the extent of perchlorate contamination on and off the Porta Bella property and to implement remediation efforts.
31. Effective and practical methods are available and in current use for high-volume treatment of water supplies contaminated by perchlorate, allowing for the restoration of such water supplies for public use and convenient disposal of waste products.
32. Large areas within the Santa Clarita Valley are viable for additional Saugus Formation production wells and sufficiently distant from the perchlorate-affected wells to allow pumping without practical effect on the incidence of perchlorate.
33. It is reasonable to anticipate that the water purveyors of the Santa Clarita Valley will effectively remediate the perchlorate problem originating at the Porta Bella property in a timely manner so as to preserve their ability to rely on the Saugus Formation as a dry-year firming resource.
34. Hydrology expert Scalmanini testified that the groundwater components of the WMP's supply estimates were "very conservative" and his testimony was not effectively refuted.
35. CLWA is a State water contractor with Table A Entitlement to SWP supplies totaling 95,200 AFY.
36. Receipt of full SWP entitlement in a particular year is not assured, but deliveries have been at least 50 % of amounts requested in almost all years.
37. The WMP's estimate that a range of from 50 to 100% of SWP entitlement will be available except in an extreme dry year is reasonable.
38. CLWA's adaptive management approach facilitates development of firming resources when needed at moderate cost.
39. The State has developed or is in the process of developing various dry-year firming supply programs, including the Drought Water Bank, to enhance the reliability of SWP water supplies to contractors such as CLWA.
40. CLWA and Valencia also have opportunities to develop water banking and storage projects and dry year option contracts directly with other owners of water resources.
41. CLWA is in the process of developing recycled water that will eventually produce more than 10,000 AFY of supplemental supply, but the WMP includes only 1,700 AFY of recycled water in its estimates of available supplies.
42. The WMP describes numerous water conservation programs conducted by CLWA and Valencia but does not recognize potential conservation in demand or supply projections.
43. The WMP Figure III-2 provides an accurate and useful comparison of the cumulative volumes of water supply available to water purveyors in the Santa Clarita Valley across a range of weather conditions in relation to current and projected Valley-wide demand over the relevant time period.
44. The comparison of available supply and projected demand presented in WMP Figure III-2 indicates the sufficiency of supplies available to Valencia over the relevant time period.
45. Valencia's current and planned water supplies are sufficient to meet present and future customer needs within the planning horizon of Los Angeles County's DMS.
46. The WMP adequately and fairly describes and estimates the current and future demand for Valencia's water service and the range of water resources reasonably available to Valencia now and in the future to meet that demand over the relevant time period.
47. DMS includes the water demand associated with the development projects addressed by ALs 88 and 90.
48. Valencia is the water purveyor that can most efficiently extend service to the development projects addressed by ALs 88 and 90.
49. The only entitlements Valencia seeks from this proceeding are the entitlements to extend water service proposed in ALs 88 and 90.
50. Two of the four development projects, North Valencia 2 and Tesoro del Valle, were the subjects of EIRs that have been certified and approved by the City of Santa Clarita and the County of Los Angeles, respectively, and are not the subject of any judicial appeal.
51. One of the development projects, Mountain View, was the subject of a Mitigated Negative Declaration certified and approved by the County of Los Angeles (following prior completion of an EIR for a larger project) and not the subject of any judicial appeal.
52. The fourth and most recent development project, West Creek, was the subject of an EIR that was certified and approved by the County of Los Angeles in September, 2000, but documentation of the County's actions was not adopted until December, 2000.
53. The County's certification and approval of the West Creek EIR has been challenged by SCOPE in an action, now pending in Santa Barbara County Superior Court, but no injunctive relief is in effect, a motion for preliminary injunction having been denied July 5, 2001.
54. In certifying and approving each of the above-referenced environmental assessments, the local agency adopted detailed findings and imposed specific mitigation measures as part of a comprehensive mitigation plan.
55. Valencia submitted with its PEA, or thereafter, complete documentation for the environmental review of the four land development projects related to ALs 88 and 90.
56. All environmental impacts that may be associated with the extensions of water service proposed by ALs 88 and 90 were within the scope of the environmental impact reviews that were performed in connection with the related land development projects.
57. The EIRs submitted in this proceeding did not identify any significant environmental impacts related to water service or water supply.
58. Pursuant to CEQA Guideline 15096(i), the Commission has considered the environmental assessments contained in the environmental documents for the related land development projects.
1. The assigned Commissioner's ruling of December 21, 2000, correctly determined that the project under consideration in this proceeding, for purposes of CEQA, is the WMP in conjunction with ALs 88 and 90.
2. The WMP's projections of Valley-wide demand for water service based on DMS and of Valencia-specific demand based on the company's historic demand growth trend are reasonable and sufficient for Valencia's customer service and system planning purposes.
3. The WMP provides a sound basis for concluding that Valencia's current and planned water supplies are sufficient to meet present and future customer needs.
4. Valencia's water reliability goal of having available supplies sufficient to meet normal water demand in 19 out of 20 years while anticipating a maximum allowable supply shortage in one year of 10% of demand is reasonable.
5. The range of supplies the WMP projects as available from the Alluvial Aquifer and Saugus Formation is reasonable.
6. The range of SWP supplies the WMP projects as available is reasonable.
7. The sources and magnitude of dry-year firming supplies the WMP projects as available is reasonable.
8. The WMP's estimate of recycled water supply is reasonable.
9. The WMP's treatment of water conservation programs and potential is sufficient.
10. Environmental review is required with respect to Valencia's requests for entitlement to extend water service to the four development projects.
11. The proper role under CEQA for the Commission in considering approval of the WMP in conjunction with ALs 88 and 90 is that of a responsible agency.
12. As a responsible agency, the Commission's responsibility is to review and to consider the EIR or Mitigated Negative Declaration, as applicable, for each of the four land development projects to which ALs 88 and 90 relate in accordance with CEQA Guideline 15096(i) with particular attention to impacts on water resources, to determine whether further study is required, and to make appropriate findings.
13. Based on the evidentiary record developed in this proceeding and the environmental impact assessments prepared for the land development projects related to ALs 88 and 90, no additional review of environmental impacts relating to water resources is required.
14. Valencia's WMP should be approved.
15. Valencia's Advice Letters 88 and 90 should be approved.
IT IS ORDERED that:
1. Valencia Water Company's (Valencia) 1999 updated Water Management Program is approved to the extent that it establishes that Valencia has sufficient water resources available to serve the projects described in Advice Letters 88 and 90.
2. Valencia is authorized to extend its service area to provide public utility water service to the North Valencia 2, Mountain View, West Creek and Tesoro del Valle developments as described in Advice Letters 88 and 90.
3. Advice Letters 88 and 90 are accepted for filing and shall become effective as of the date of this decision.
4. If Valencia proposes to expand its service area to serve the Newhall Ranch Specific Plan, or any part of it, Valencia shall file an application requesting authority to expand its service area, and provide an updated Water Management Program and advice letter covering any such service area expansion.
5. This proceeding is closed.
This order is effective today.
Dated , at San Francisco, California.
APPENDIX B
Page 1
Acronyms and Abbreviations
AF - Acre-feet
AFY - Acre-feet per year
ALJ - Administrative Law Judge
ALs - Advice Letters
CEQA - California Environmental Quality Act
CLWA - Castaic Lake Water Agency
D. - Decision
DHS - Department of Health Services
DMS - Los Angeles County's Development Monitoring System
DTSC - Department of Toxic Substances Control
DWB - State Drought Water Bank
DWR - Department of Water Resources
EIRs - Environmental Impact Reports
Friends of the River - Friends of the Santa Clarita River
ISEP - Ion Separation
IWRP - Integrated Water Resource Plan
NCWD - Newhall County Water District
North Valencia 2 - North Valencia Annexation-2
PEA - Proponents' Environmental Assessment
PHC - Prehearing Conference
SCOPE - Santa Clarita Organization for Planning the Environment
SCWC - Santa Clarita Water Company
Sierra Club - Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club
APPENDIX B
Page 2
SWP - State Water Project
TDS - Total Dissolved Solids
UWMP - Urban Water Management Plan
Valencia - Valencia Water Company
Ventura - County of Ventura
Water Division - Ratepayer Representation Branch of the Commission's
Water DivisionWMP - Water Management Program
(END OF APPENDIX B)
