State Board EIR on Modifications to Cachuma Project Water Rights Permit
Because the State Board is evaluating various alternatives to existing Cachuma Project operations, it decided to prepare an Environmental Impact Report on Modifications to Reclamation's Cachuma Water Right Permits. A Draft EIR was published in August 2003. Based on testimony presented at the Phase 2 Hearing, the State Board issued a revised Draft EIR in July 2007 that included two new alternatives, and a 2nd revised Draft EIR in April 2011. The Final EIR was completed in December 2011, and was the last remaining evidentiary document that the State Board must consider prior to rendering a decision and a new water rights order for the Cachuma Project.
A hearing was held in March 2012 for the State Board to take testimony regarding the Final EIR. At the conclusion of the hearing, the State Board decided to admit the Final EIR into the hearing record, and formally closed the record. Although the eventual outcome of the Hearing is unknown, the State Board is in the process of writing a new water rights order. Future State Board actions regarding the Cachuma permits may or may not modify the current appropriations and uses of water diverted from the Santa Ynez River.