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E <br />Mr. Robert McClellon <br />June 15, 2012 <br />Page 5 <br />E <br />necessary environmental review. While the existing Forward Landfill is current., <br />IV <br />operating under San Joaquin County Land Use Permit No. UP -00-7, this permit does not <br />allow Forward to dispose of waste on the proposed expansion site. <br />The landfill activities on the proposed expansion site therefore constitute <br />per se violations of the County's zoning laws. As such, the County is required to begin <br />the enforcement process outlined in Title 9, Division 19 of the San Joaquin County <br />Municipal Code. <br />C. Williamson Act Violations <br />A valid Williamson Act contract (Contract No. 72-C1-398) restricts the <br />proposed landfill expansion site to agricultural or compatible uses. There is simply no <br />conceivable way to characterize the discharge of cannery waste, or the grading and <br />construction of an emergency access road leading into and out of the current landfill, as <br />agricultural uses. Nor can the activities qualify as compatible uses under Title 9, <br />Division 18 of the San Joaquin County Municipal Code, which lists non-agricultural uses <br />that are nonetheless permitted in Williamson Act agricultural preserves. These activities <br />therefore constitute serious breaches of the Williamson Act contract for the proposed <br />expansion site. <br />State law requires San Joaquin County to determine whether these activities <br />constitute material breaches of the expansion site's Williamson Act contract. Cal. Gov't <br />Code § 51250(d). The County must conduct an investigation to make this determination. <br />If the County determines that the contract breaches are material, the County must either <br />order Forward to eliminate the conditions that resulted in the material breach within 60 <br />days, or assess a significant monetary penalty. Cal. Gov't Code § 51250(i). <br />D. CEQA Violations <br />The landfill activities on the proposed expansion site appear to be the first <br />steps in the proposed landfill expansion project. These first steps may not occur, <br />however, unless and until the CEQA process for the expansion project is completed and <br />the project is approved by the County. Bozung v. Local Agency Formation Comm'n <br />(1975) 13 Cal. 3d 263, 283-84. At this stage, the Draft Environmental Impact Report for <br />the project has not even been circulated for public comment. In fact, the approval of the <br />project is far from certain, and it will not occur, under any scenario, at any time in the <br />near future. Forward may not begin to develop the proposed project until the County has <br />undertaken the proper environmental review and provided the necessary approvals. <br />SHUTE MIHALY <br />6--WEINBERGERLLY <br />