Thursday June 6, 2024
Sacramento Bee —
California is one step closer to building its largest water storage facility in nearly 50 years, after a court ruled in favor of the Sites Reservoir project following a challenge by environmental groups.
The Yolo County Superior Court issued the 65 page ruling late last week, marking a possible end to the project’s environmental litigation. The relatively quick ruling stands in contrast to a typical, multi-year litigation period under the Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Gov. Gavin Newsom accelerated the project’s CEQA litigation period in November under an infrastructure streamlining package passed the previous summer. He celebrated the court’s ruling in a news release Tuesday.
“California needs more water storage, and we have no time to waste — projects like the Sites Reservoir will capture rain and snow runoff to supply millions of homes with clean drinking water,” Newsom said.