Preliminary Geotechnical Work For Delta Project Not Subject To CEQA Piecemealing Prohibition

In Tulare Lake Basin Water Storage District v. Department of Water Resources, 115 Cal. App. 5th 342 (2025), the Third District Court of Appeal held that the Delta Reform Act's certification-of-consistency requirement does not incorporate CEQA's whole-of-an-action requirement and prohibition against piecemealing.

The California Department of Water Resources commenced preconstruction geotechnical work for the Delta Conveyance Plan, a major proposed water tunnel through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Plaintiffs challenged the project, claiming that DWR was required to obtain a Delta Plan consistency certification under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Reform Act before conducting geotechnical work. Plaintiffs also claimed that DWR's actions and attempt to separate the geotechnical work from the rest of the Project violated the Delta Reform Act and ran afoul of CEQA's prohibition against piecemealing.