What is the proper agency to determine the environmental impacts of a water-related project in Half Moon Bay?
The Coastside County Water District says it should conduct environmental review on any of its projects, and be the lead agency in presenting findings for the California Environmental Quality Act.
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He referred to a key section in the CEQA code that states: "If the project will be carried out by a public agency, that agency shall be the lead agency even if the project would be located within the jurisdiction of another public agency."
The city however, isn't so sure that should be the case.
It's not diving into a full-blown debate over what agency should be designated as the lead agency on water projects. But it is raising the question of whether the city can be assured all potential environmental impacts would be addressed by the agency pursuing the project.
Planning Director Jack Liebster said if the city conducts the Environmental Impact Review on a project, it's guaranteed that a sufficient study, which addresses all the potential impacts, will be completed before findings are made.
"It just makes more sense in that case," Liebster said.
But it isn't inherently guaranteed that the agency pursuing the project would be as thorough, he said. After all, it's in that agency's interest to make findings that benefit its project.
The CCWD is pursuing a project to replace a main-feeder pipe on Carter Hill, and these questions about lead agency status relate to that and future projects.
The Planning Commission first raised this concern a couple of weeks ago when it held discussions on a separate project, CCWD General Manager Ed Schmidt said.
The CCWD assumed the role of lead agency on the Carter Hill West Project, and after conducting CEQA review, its board of directors adopted a Mitigated Negative Declaration on April 13, Schmidt said.
With that, the CCWD is expecting to file a permit application for the project next week.
At that time, the city and water district will be meeting to discuss the water district's CEQA findings and the question over lead agency status.
Schmidt and Condotti said it was appropriate for the city to raise these issues, and they expect them to be resolved through more consultations with the city.
Condotti added that the CCWD has always assumed the role of lead agency when pursuing projects, so this is nothing new.
"It may be an issue for some, but it's not as big of an issue for me," Liebster said. "We say if you're going to do this, please make sure you do a thorough job."
The city still has to review the Mitigated Negative Declaration adopted by the CCWD and make its own independent finding, Liebster added.
From there, the city will make its finding on the project's Coastal Development Permit and check its adherence to the city's Local Coastal Program.
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