RECENT CALIFORNIA DECISIONS

July 2010

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Fourth District Finds CEQA Violation Where Infeasibility Determination for Alternative Looked to Only One Facility—Finds need for Water Supply Assessment
Center for Biological Diversity v. County of San Bernardino, ___Cal.App.4th___

The Fourth District Court of Appeal has held that, for two reasons, the County of San Bernardino (the county) violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) when it certified a final environmental impact report (FEIR) for an open-air human waste composting facility. First, the court found that the county lacked substantial evidence to determine that an enclosed composting facility was an infeasible alternative, where that determination was based on the costs associated with one particular enclosed facility rather than on a broader evaluation of enclosed facilities.