CARRQ update: WE WON! (forwarded message)

[Sabrina]

----- Original Message -----
From: CARRQ ([email protected])
Sent: Friday, August 03, 2012 2:42 PM
Subject: We Won! Court Rules against Roblar Quarry and EIR


We Won!

Court Rules against Roblar Rock Quarry and the Environmental Impact Report

On August 2, 2012, Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Elliot Daum issued a final ruling in favor of the Citizens Advocating for Roblar Rural Quality (CARRQ) who challenged the adequacy of the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on the Roblar Rock Quarry project that was approved by the Board of Supervisors in December 2010. The Judge agreed with CARRQ that the County’s EIR was inadequate in four major areas:

• The County’s EIR failed to test or study the County’s former and now closed landfill for water quality contamination and reached conclusions that are not supported by substantial evidence.
• The County inadequately described the mitigation preserve which was needed to relocate endangered species.
• The County’s EIR failed to provide adequate analysis of the impacts or efficacy of the mitigation preserve to be used for the Quarry.
• The County’s evidence and analysis of the environmental impacts to nearby Americano Creek due to the widening of Roblar Road and related mitigation measures was inadequate.

This is a significant “win” for CARRQ and Sonoma County residents for protecting the rural quality of life, open space and agriculture in Sonoma County. The 34-page court decision is a vindication of the long- term efforts by a broad base of citizens who have questioned the County’s environmental review process of the Roblar Rock Quarry. CARRQ believes the result supports CARRQ’s position that the analysis of the impact of heavy development in environmentally sensitive areas should not be minimized for the sake of political expediency or other purposes.

Sue Buxton, CARRQ president, said, “I could not be more pleased with Judge Daum’s decision. He clearly read the record carefully and agreed with CARRQ’s position that the Environmental Impact Report prepared by the County for the proposed Quarry was inadequate. Manylocal residents and county environmentalists have worked very hard to bring these issues to light. We are very grateful to our excellent attorney, Michael Molland of Morgan Lewis.”

CARRQ hopes the County and the property developer will accept this ruling. If the County chooses to continue the process with a new EIR to address the various inadequacies, CAARQ hopes the review and any further hearings on a new EIR will be transparent and open to the public.

CAARQ also believes this ruling calls into question a related resolution approved by the Board of Supervisors, sitting as the Board of the Open Space District, which was made on the same day the Supervisors approved the Quarry project. That resolution would allow the Quarry developer to use County Open Space land for new habitat for endangered species that the Quarry operations will kill.

The Sonoma County Open Space District is currently developing a mitigation policy for publicly funded open space lands and conservation easements on private lands. Under this draft policy, mitigation preserve projects would benefit private developers or public agencies by lowering project costs. CAARQ hopes and expects that the Open Space District should closely review Judge Daum’s August 2, 2012 ruling prior to recommending a final draft policy for consideration by the Board of Supervisors.