The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to be responsible for determining whether a project is exempt from CEQA and whether an environmental impact report, a negative declaration, or a mitigated negative declaration is required. Existing law requires a city or county that determines a certain type of project is subject to the requirements of CEQA to identify any public water system that may supply water for the project and to request those public water systems to prepare a specified water supply assessment, as provided.

Existing law requires the governing body of each identified public water system to submit the requested water supply assessment not later than 90 days from the date that the request was received. Existing law requires that the assessment be approved at a regular or special meeting, as provided.

This bill would require, for certain housing development projects, a public water system to submit the requested water supply assessment to the city or county no later than 45 days from the date that the request was received. The bill would provide that those water supply assessments do not need to be approved at a public meeting. The bill would also authorize a city or county to seek a writ of mandamus to compel a public water system that fails to submit the water supply assessment to comply with the requirements relating to the submission of the water supply assessment.