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As we will see below, the 1999 transfer of SWP water from KCWA to CLWA is

the proverbial seed from which the appeal before us today is grown. With this second

part of our story tucked away in mind, we turn to still more events.

III. Related Litigation
A. The CEQA Case Involving the Monterey Agreement/Monterey Amendments

The DWR contractors who negotiated the Monterey Agreement, along with DWR,

recognized that implementation of the agreement’s principles for the reallocation of water

from the SWP might have potential adverse environmental effects, and, thus required the

preparation of an EIR, including an opportunity for public input during the environmental
review process. To that end, the Monterey Agreement adherents appointed one of their

own contractors to serve as the “lead agency” in charge of preparing an EIR. In 1995, the

contractor certified an EIR for the Monterey Agreement, and, later that same year, DWR,

acting in the role of a “responsible agency,” issued findings and adopted the EIR. (PCL,

supra, 83 Cal.App.4th at p. 902.)
Shortly thereafter, two citizens groups (and others) filed a petition for writ of

mandate in the Sacramento County Superior Court, challenging the sufficiency of the

EIR for the Monterey Agreement. In 1996, the trial court entered judgment rejecting the

retailers within [the Santa Clarita Valley] area.” (Friends of the Santa Clara River v.
Castaic Lake Water Agency (2004) 123 Cal.App.4th 1, 4.) CLWA is a statutorily-defined
“urban water supplier” under the Urban Water Management Planning Act or UWMPA.
(Stats. 1983, ch. 1009, § 1, p. 3555; Wat. Code, § 10610 et. seq.) The UWMPA requires
all such water suppliers to prepare an Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) every
five years. Among other elements, a UWMP must provide information on a supplier’s
water usage, resources, reliability planning, demand management measures, and shortage
contingency planning. A UWMP is intended to function as a planning tool to guide
broad-perspective decision-making by the management of the water supplier; an UWMP
is not a substitute for project-specific planning documents, such as those which are
required under CEQA. In Friends of the Santa Clara River v. Castaic Lake Water
Agency, supra, 123 Cal.App.4th 1, the Fifth District Court of Appeal in Fresno addressed
challenges to CLWA’s 2000 UWMP. In 2005, CLWA prepared its most recent UWMP.
CLWA’s UWMP envisions use of the transfer of the 41,000 AFY of SWP water
purchased from KCWA.

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