1991 EIR

In June of 1970, the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct was completed, adding an additional 300 cubic-feet-per-second of export capacity to the LA aqueduct system. To supply the additional water to the aqueduct system LA increased pumping in the Owens Valley, decreased irrigation in the Owens Valley, and increased exports of surface water from the Mono Basin. Also in 1970, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) was enacted. In 1972 Inyo County commenced CEQA litigation against LA seeking the preparation of a CEQA Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to analyze the potential impacts of the Second LA Aqueduct. From the 1970s through the 1980s most of the scientific analysis was conducted for the EIR and, after numerous legal battles, a Draft EIR (DEIR), titled “Water From the Owens Valley to Supply the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct,” was produced in September 1990 consisting of Volumes I and II. The Final EIR, with the header “Response To Comments on September 1990 Draft Environmental Impact Report,” was produce in August 1991 consisting of Volumes I, II, III. The Final EIR is referred to as “the 91 EIR.”

The 91 EIR can be somewhat confusing because a comprehensive document containing all final (revised) language was not created; instead the Final EIR contains responses to comments and, most importantly, Volume I, Section 3: Revisions to the Agreement and Draft EIR. This section amends the corresponding language in Volume I of the 1990 DEIR. An effective way to interpret the 91 EIR is to read from Volumes I and II of the 1990 DEIR and then refer to Volume I, Section 3 of the 1991 Final EIR to see if any changes were made to the language (or tables or figures) in the DEIR section of interest.

PDF versions of the Draft EIR (1990 DEIR Volume I, 1990 DEIR Volume II) and PDF versions of the Final EIR (1991 EIR Volumes I, II, III) are attached. Volume I of the DEIR contains the introduction, background, and CEQA checklist discussion – it is the core of the 91 EIR. DEIR Volume II contains the appendices to the DEIR. For the 1991 Response to Comments, Volume I contains the master comments and responses and the revisions (including revised tables and figures) to the DEIR. Volumes II and III contain the comment letters and responses and additional appendices.