LAKE COUNTY >> The Lake County Planning Commission approved the Drafted Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for Hidden Valley Lake’s Wild Diamond Vineyards expansion project at its regular meeting Thursday.
Just like the commission’s initial hearing on Aug. 11, the matter — which proposes to build a winegrowing operation of 80 acres and add facilities for winemaking and special events — drew plenty of residents and prompted a long discussion. This time, though, Wild Diamond representatives, consultants and the commissioners addressed their concerns, particularly those involving the area’s water supply and the controversial biological study.
“I don’t feel there’s a need for a continuance,” District 1 Commissioner and Chair Joseph Sullivan said, responding to a request made by some residents. “I think those matters can be taken care of in the time allotted.”
Responding to the main worry of the area’s groundwater, Mike Delmanowski, Senior Hydrogeologist for EBA Engineering, assured the public and the commission by claiming their two site evaluations, map studies and analysis of 95 government logs confirmed the project’s impact would have little effect on wells.
Using other techniques and referencing public records, his team claimed there were 22,000 acre-feet of storage in the aquifer. As for the site’s demand, its current use is about 34 acre-feet per year. It was estimated to use just under 125-acre feet per year.
Delmanowski’s report also studied the more than 100 structures existing within the vineyards proximity and determined that they annually consumed 53 acre-feet.
“In total, we take the Wild Diamond Project and the offsite stuff … existing use equates to 87 acre-feet per year; future final use would be roughly be 260 acre-feet per year,” he said. “Both of those numbers compared to aquifer storage capacity is about 1 percent of the total. “
Furthermore, he noted that the rainfall totals lead to a positive water balance of 1,154 acre-feet over an average of 10 years. By the time the project is fully built and functional, the total usage should account for 20 to 25 percent of the groundwater available for recharge.
Still, some weren’t happy with his analysis — especially local geology professor and HVL resident David Adam. He reiterated his statements two weeks ago, arguing that the study wasn’t thorough nor should the company be trusted.
Kirk Cloyd, the general manager of the HVL Community Services District countered his statements.
“The hydrologist for Wild Diamond did a fantastic job,” Cloyd said. “I think the baseline or the ground work is there.”
However, he did make two recommendations for the final EIR: a baseline monitoring report for the creeks, springs and tributaries, and an expansion of the groundwater recharge report on the five wells in the area.
“It’s just to insure you’re not over-drafting,” he said.
Issues regarding the biology report, which Steve Zalusky of Northwest Biosurvey previously claimed was improperly credited and incomplete in the DEIR, were cleared as well.
In fact, both Zalusky and Wild Diamond attorney Tina Wallis addressed the issue.
“To a large extent a lot of these issues have been resolved,” he said, adding that he submitted a document to the Planning Commission that addressed a third-party review of his work. “We clearly want to get across the fact that we have no opinion whatsoever on this project.”
Meanwhile, Wallis discussed late blooming plant species and claimed that a study has been prepared and should be ready for the final EIR.
By the end of the two-hour meeting, these responses were sufficient enough for the commissioners. They didn’t have an official vote but concurred with one another. One of their few recommendations was to further address the potential noise impacts.
Another public hearing is scheduled for early September, but no date was confirmed.
District 3 Commissioner Gladys Rosehill wasn’t present at the meeting.
