Discussion
The Commission's CEQA role in this matter is that of a Responsible Agency pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21069 and CEQA Guidelines Section(s) 15096 et seq. The Commission CEQA staff of the Energy Division (Staff) independently reviewed the Supplement to the EIR and the Final Additional Analysis and determined that the recertified EIR and its Supplement identify and address all the potential significant impacts - including the water demand for the West Creek project, and the detection of perchlorate in one of Valencia's Wells. Also, the County approved the EIR with a Statement of Overriding Considerations. Staff concludes that the Supplement to the EIR and the Final Additional Analysis dated July 2005 are legally sufficient for Valencia to be allowed to serve the West Creek project.
We deny SCOPE's request that we wait for the outcome of its (second) appeal of the trial court's order. CEQA Guidelines Sections 15231, 15233 and Pub. Res. Code § 21167.3, when read in conjunction with City of Redding2 and other legal authority require responsible agencies, which we are in this case, to move forward on its role in the process regardless of the appeal. Furthermore, there is no court injunction in effect in connection with SCOPE's appeal. The County of Los Angeles, lead agency for the West Creek project, has treated the revised final EIR as sufficient and, notwithstanding the legal challenges of SCOPE and Friends, has granted grading, construction, and other permits to allow the project to proceed. Thus, we find no basis for continuation of the stay on D.01-11-048.
In summary, we find no merit to the claims of Sierra Club related to D.01-11-048. As the record demonstrates, the environmental concerns related to this project have been exhaustively reviewed. We conclude that the time has come for the Commission to allow Valencia to serve the West Creek project within the scope of its approved WMP and to close this six-year-old proceeding.
2 City of Redding v. Shasta County Local Agency Formation Comm'n (1989), 209 Cal.App.3d 1169, 1181.
