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We want to highlight successes of concerned residents like you who have made a difference in your community by utilizing the CEQA process. By sharing your success stories you will be helping to inform and empower others to take action in their communities. Read our feature success stories below:
 The Effort to Save Clover Valley
By Marilyn Jasper
Clover Valley Foundation, Sierra Club Placer Group
In 1999, a small group of community members accidentally discovered that 622 acres of a beautiful, pristine, steep-sloped valley, called Clover Valley, were slated for a 933-unit residential development plus some commercial development near Rocklin, CA. They also learned that a devastating 4-lane cross-valley highway was also being proposed. Consequently, our small group of concerned citizens hired an environmental attorney, organized a coalition and began our fundraising. This project has had three Environmental Impact Reports, with the last one being certified along with the project approvals. It is probably one of the most egregious projects in the area that will destroy the last remarkable landscape in the region. We have filed our CEQA lawsuit and may be tied up in the courts for a couple of years.
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 CEQA and the Restoration of Mono Lake
In 1940, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) obtained permits to divert waters from Mono Lake and four tributary streams. By citing the public trust doctrine, California Trout and Mono Lake Committee were able to modify the Mono Lake water diversion permits. For over 35 years, these diversions resulted in loss of stream flow, fisheries and riparian vegetation, and an incredible 45-foot drop in the water level. Ultimately, the State Water Board was required to comply with CEQA and prepare an EIR. The environmental review process diligently studied the problem and found the best balance of protection for municipal water supply and the public trust. Mono Lake and its streams are now returning to good condition.
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 Mega-Dairies & Agricultural Air Pollution
A proposal creating a 28,000 cow dairy in Bakersfield was approved without consideration of the CEQA review process. The Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment challenged Kern County’s avoidance of an environmental analysis. Later, when the initial analysis failed to adequately consider the impacts of the dairies – the County was sued. The Courts ruled three times in favor of the environmental organizations and required a new EIR, which discovered the greatest impact to be on air quality. Up until 2003, nearly all air pollution caused by agricultural practices in California escaped the oversight common to other industries. The Mega-Dairies issue led to legislation that removed the agricultural exemption from air quality laws and instituted a permitting process – resulting in an historic precedent to improve the air quality and public health of the Central Valley.
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 Pesticides Discovered in the Soil at Site of Future San Diego Homes
Though the site had historically been used for greenhouse and field agriculture, when a proposal for 40 housing units came before the City of Encinitas, staff recommended a Negative Declaration for the project. The Quail Botanical Gardens Foundation requested further review of impacts because of its proximity to the 27-acre Garden. Concerns arose about the soil and after close review of the soil study, it was revealed soil samples were not taken in a random manner. In fact, the study completely avoided the location where chemicals like DDT and Toxaphene were mixed. The Foundation took the City to court and in 1994 the City was required to complete a full EIR. Today, thanks to CEQA, 40 families live in a subdivision and will no longer be exposed to toxic chemicals and compounds, which were remediated out of the soil before construction.
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