RULING CHEERS SCOPE.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - The water plan detailing the build-out of Valencia is incomplete, according to a draft ruling of the California Public Utilities Commission.

If the draft ruling is certified, the Valencia Water Co. must submit additional environmental information before the commission can approve its water management plan, said Daniel Paige, the water division supervisor for the commission.

``Its very exciting,'' said Lynne Plambeck, first vice president for the Santa Clarita Organization for Planning the Environment. ``We've never been able to help shape a water management plan before. It's a huge victory.''

Valencia Water Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Newhall Land and Farming Company, had claimed it could provide enough water for the developer's 2,500 homes in the West Creek subdivision in San Francisquito Creek, the 1,900 in North Valencia development and the 1,700 in Tesoro Del Valle development, among other projects.

SCOPE, the Sierra Club and Ventura County dispute those claims, saying their estimates show there is not enough water in the valley to serve Newhall's developments.

The commission made no ruling on this claim, but the environmental review process will give opponents of the Newhall Land projects a forum to make their arguments about the shaky status of the area's water supply.

``It's a very preliminary ruling,'' said Newhall Land spokeswoman Marlee Lauffer. ``But if the PUC needs additional environmental information, we will provide it to them.''

SCOPE officials will ask the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to table its consideration of the West Creek project because of the commission's ruling. The supervisors tabled the approval of the West Creek project a month ago because of concerns about the water supply and the environmental impacts of new homes on the Santa Clara River's ecosystem.

``This shows the issues are up in the air,'' Plambeck said.

The Valencia Water Co.'s management plan does not cover Newhall Land's mammoth 21,911-home Newhall Ranch project, which is proposed for construction from west of Six Flags California to the Ventura County line, Lauffer said.

But the Valencia Water Co. had testified it could provide enough water for the project, another claim many environmentalists dispute. Newhall Ranch is the largest planned development ever proposed in Los Angeles County.

In June, Kern County Superior Court Judge Roger D. Randall ordered that the project be put on hold until Newhall Land addresses concerns about the development's water supply, its biological impacts on the Santa Clara River area and its effect on traffic in Ventura County.

The commission asked Newhall Land to submit a copy of the new environmental impact report for the Newhall Ranch project once it is complete.

In a related event, a state appeals court ordered this week that the California Department of Water Resources redo an EIR that was used to approve the Monterey agreement, which allowed water wholesalers to make additional purchases of entitlements from the State Water Project.

The Castaic Lake Water Agency purchased an additional 41,000 acre feet under the program last year. That purchase could be nullified if the court ruling stands and the new EIR finds the amount of water purchased by the CLWA is unsustainable.

``We're evaluating the decision now,'' said William Cooper, president of the CLWA board of directors. ``It's hard to tell what it means.

Michael Kotch, president of SCOPE and a member of the CLWA board, said the ruling could delay all development for 12 years while the issues are sorted out. The additional water had been earmarked to serve new development.

``Its a confusing mess,'' Kotch said.

If the CLWA's water purchase is affected by the ruling, it will certainly affect the Valencia Water Co.'s management plan because it will mean less water will be available in the valley. That finding could cause a chain reaction that would delay completion of both that plan and the new EIR on the Newhall Ranch project.