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John Funderburg <br /> April 6, 2012 <br /> Page 6 <br /> — <br /> accomplish this purpose, an EIR must be detailed, complete, and reflect a good faith <br /> effort at full disclosure. CEQA Guidelines § 15 15 1. It must contain facts and analysis, <br /> not just an agency's bare conclusions. See Citizens of Goleta Valley v. Bd. of <br /> Supervisors, 52 Cal, 3d 553, 568 (1990). In short, the document should provide a <br /> sufficient degree of analysis to inform the public about the proposed project's adverse <br /> environmental impacts and to allow decision makers to make intelligent judgments about <br /> whether or how the project should proceed. CEQA Guidelines § 15151. <br /> The NOP fails to provide sufficient information describing the probable <br /> environmental effects of the proposed Project. In fact, the document indicates only <br /> certain environmental issue areas will be discussed in the EIR. It does not provide any <br /> indication of what the County believes to be the probability that the proposed Project will <br /> result in various enviromnentat impacts. This approach is acceptable if the County has <br /> actually concluded that there is a high probability that the proposed Project will result in <br /> potential environmental effects in every issue area listed(land use, traffic, noise, air <br /> _ quality and odors, hydrology and water quality, soils and geology, biological resources, <br /> public services and utilities, cultural resources, visual quality, and climate change). If <br /> this is the case, the EIR prepared by the County should provide an exhaustive and <br /> — detailed analysis of the Project's impacts in all of these environmental issue areas. If the <br /> County does not, in fact, intend to prepare a full analysis of the Project's potential <br /> impacts in all issue areas, it should have made that clear in its NOP. In the absence of <br /> such a statement from the County, we can only assume that the EIR will provide an <br /> exhaustive and detailed analysis of the Project's impacts in all of the above-listed <br /> environmental issue areas. <br /> — <br /> In order to fully disclose the proposed Project's potential environmental <br /> impacts, the County must provide a thorough description of the environmental setting, <br /> including the landfill's existing regulatory framework and compliance record. At a <br /> minimum, the following information should be provided in the draft EIR; <br /> • Specific data regarding surface and ground water quality in the area; <br /> • Information regarding the landfill's existing groundwater remediation program, <br /> including sampling results for each well, and documentation regarding the status <br /> of compliance with all permits, regulatory orders and lawsuits; <br /> • Delineation of the Project site pursuant to the Federal Emergency Management <br /> Agency Flood Insurance Rate Map; <br /> S 1-I UT EN11 FI A LY <br /> &--WF1v131--RGI:Rm, <br />