HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE >> The Hidden Valley Lake Watershed organization filed an appeal against the Lake County Planning Commission’s recent approval of the final environmental impact report (FEIR) for the Wild Diamond Vineyards expansion project.
The appeal, which was filed on Oct. 20 and written by resident Elizabeth Montgomery, reiterates the concerns the group has voiced since public hearings on the document began — that the FEIR isn’t thorough enough to address the impacts to the local watershed.
“The inadequacies in the FEIR have resulted in a failure to fully disclose the environmental consequences of the project as required by CEQA [California Environmental Quality Act],” Montgomery wrote. “We would request that the EIR be revised and recirculated in order to address its insufficiencies, review alternatives to the project, and establish mitigan measures necessary to reduce impacts.”
Specifically, the appeal focused on the Mitigation Measure Hydrology and Water Quality-1, which was introduced at the commission’s last meeting on Oct. 13. This document from the planning department demands that the company provide a map of wall known water sources on the property, install a groundwater monitoring well upstream of each spring, and provide an annual report on all data collected.
While Montgomery called the mitigations an “important step in the right direction,” she asserted that private property be included in both the map and the report. The commission resisted this claim, saying that it would be unreasonable to expect the company to do research on private property.
“The applicant has gone beyond what is required,” Community Development Director Bob Massarelli said during the meeting, adding that the aquifer has sufficient storage in an average year.
Yet Montgomery disagreed and noted that the Hidden Valley Lake community would have allowed the company to go on their property.
“Clearly, this is a convenient excuse,” she added.
Massarelli couldn’t be reached by press time for comment.
The next commission meeting on Wild Diamond is set for November. The appeal will be heard at a future Lake County Board of Supervisors meeting.
