Evidence of Past Floodplain Alterations by Newhall Land Support FSCR Efforts to Curtail the Project

Review of old photographs by Barbara Wampole, FSCR Vice-chair, has led us to the view that extensive past alteration of lands in the floodplain of the Santa Clara River within the Newhall Ranch project area (as well as adjacent areas upstream and downstream) may have occurred to create conditions favorable to the applicant's goals prior to the preparation of the Newhall Ranch DEIR. These alterations could have led to a diminishment of impacts as analised in the DEIR. Areas that were formerly not in agricultural cultivation were expanded into the floodplain from areas nearby, levees added, etc. (e.g. south of Wolcott Way, Chiquita Canyon Road, Castaic Junction). Aerial photos from years prior to the release of the DEIR show evidence of river action and riparian vegetation in areas that were not historically in cultivation. A comprehensive review of applicant permits and violations (some involving enforcement actions and fines) may show a pattern of land-use change that would constitute a series of significant cumulative impacts in preparation for conversion of land to development. This project has been on the drawing board for many years, lending support to the possibility that favorable alterations in land-use were done in advance of environmental review. Some of these changes could have been in violation of the federal Clean Water Act. We also believe that the condition of any mitigation prescribed for impacts of prior permits and violations in the project area, including the effectiveness and monitoring of such mitigation, should all be viewed as pertinent to the cumulative impacts analysis of this project.