2012 ceqa presentation for ce class

Editor's Notes

• #3: STATUTE: Law of California California Public Resources Code §§ 21000-21177 GUIDELINES: First issued 1973 Developed by the Office of Planning and Research (OPR) Establish a road map for implementing CEQA Intended to be certified and adopted every two years Recognized by courts, but do not carry same weight as statutes Watch for changes…
• #5: So here’s the basics: what you need to know is that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321-4327) was signed into law by President Richard M. Nixon, it was proposed in 1969 and it was actually titled the Environmental Policy act of 1969, but it wasn’t really signed into law until 1970. So what does this mean…. Well this was important because it represented a fundamental shift in United States federal government policy from a primary focus on economic development toward a more environmentally balanced approach and it set the foundation of environmental regulation. Primarily, the law established policy that required federal government agencies to consider the environmental effects of their decision making. For the purpose of this presentation, that’s all you really need to know. NEPA set the foundation for CEQA. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) which was passed and adopted in 1970 shortly after NEPA, was incorporated into Public Resources Code under §§21000.   CEQA’s history comes from what was called the California Assembly Select Committee on Environmental Quality. This group decided well what the heck let’s write a report. … so they did and it was called the Environmental Bill of Rights, what this report did was call for a California counterpart to NEPA. Later that same year, acting on the recommendations of the committee, the legislature passed, and Governor Reagan signed, the CEQA statute. One interesting thing to note is that the report actually called for CEQA as a constitutional amendment, but the legislature decided to go the statue rout. So the Legislature is tasked with the continuous task of modifying the statue as new Laws are enacted. We will get into later how the Courts play into this whole process and how they “interpret” the Law.
• #6: CEQA was originally only applied to only public projects….but California Supreme Court interpretation of the law in the Friends of Mammoth vs. Board of Supervisors came to a decision that resulted in revisions to CEQA that now expand CEQA’s jurisdiction to nearly all projects within California. In this case Mono County, approved a conditional use permit for an apartment complex with any sort of environmental documentation. So the “Friends of Mammoth” filed a writ, sighting non compliance with CEQA. So this was sent to the Superior Court, which sided with the County, but then the Supreme Court reversed the decision and said that it was in fact a “project” and must comply with CEQA. So in 1972 it was revised to clearly stat it applied to government approval of private projects, as well as to direct government activities.
• #7: So now that we have this new LAW the next few years were spent trying to figure out how and what to do with it… one very important thing to mention is that CEQA is a “self-executing statute.” This means that Public agencies are entrusted with compliance with CEQA and all the provisions are to be enforced, as necessary, by the public through the legal process. While the Resources Agency is charged with the adoption of CEQA Guidelines, and may often assist public agencies in the interpretation of CEQA, it is each public agency's duty to determine what is and is not subject to CEQA. So after CEQA became a law, many public agencies did not take this law seriously.
• #8: So there are four fundamental reasons for CEQA: Informing government decision makers and public about the potential significant environmental impacts- So this is the bridge between science and politics. We as practitioners are taking sound science and presenting it to the public in a way in which they can understand it. Secondly, we must clearly identify way impacts can be avoided or significantly reduced.- This is why in environmental impact assessment documents you will often times see BOLDED statements saying things like SIGNIFICANT IMPACT, LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT IMPACT, ETC.
• #9: 3) Next once we have identified what will happen as a result of this “project” we must then try and develop a means to avoid this potential damage. By way of mitigation or alternatives. Good example, 4) Finally after we have tried to mitigate the impact we now have to disclose to the public why the “lead agency” has approved the “project” in the event there are significant and unavoidable impacts. We will touch on this later on. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is a public disclosure law that applies to projects that require a discretionary approval by a state or local governmental agency.
• #12: 50 acre commercial development over a vacant lot-- not previously planned for in the City’s general plan (was designated for something else) Project? Yes-- discretionary decision is needed Subject to CEQA? Yes- impacts to land, air, water use, traffic, noise, etc… Prepare initial study to find out what impacts may cause a problem What is appropriate document? Can you mitigate them (mit neg nec)? Or are there areas that may still end up being significant, even with mitigation? (EIR) Circulate your document for the public to see the impacts and to give their two cents Give to Lead Agency’s decision making body (I.e. City Council or Board of Supervisors -County) for decision and environmental findings
• #13: A public agency must comply with CEQA when it undertakes an activity defined by CEQA as a "project." A project is an activity undertaken by a public agency or a private activity which must receive some discretionary approval (meaning that the agency has the authority to deny the requested permit or approval) from a government agency which may cause either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect change in the environment. Most proposals for physical development in California are subject to the provisions of CEQA, as are many governmental decisions which do not immediately result in physical development. Every development project which requires a discretionary governmental approval will require at least some environmental review pursuant to CEQA, unless an exemption applies. Section 21002
• #14: Ministerial = within zoning ordinance, ok to build, just fill out your permit
• #15: Wastewater treatment expansion projects
• #16: Exemptions AKA Fee Passes Now exemptions, which are not to be confused with exclusions, because that’s NEPA. There are basically two types of exemptions passes under CEQA:
• #17: Statutory- Which are basically “projects” or discretionary actions which the state legislature has deemed exempt. Regardless of impacts. Good example the Olympics. All the statutory exemptions I believe are found in article 18.
• #18: Categorical- Theses are projects that typically do not have significant environmental impacts, but there are exceptions. So lets talk about the exceptions first. Another exemption is unusual circumstances- such as say you are replacing an existing structure, but that structure is adjacent to a State Designated Scenic Highway… well the initial action of replacing your structure isn’t an issue, it’s the fact that you are located next to the scenic highway that is.
• #20: No after you have determined that your action is exempt from CEQA you have to file….. believe it or not “notice of exemption” So what goes into a NOE: Brief Project Description A finding that the project is exempt Citation why the project is exempt Discussion supporting the finding. So you have a NOE completed so now what: No you have to File it with the County clerk, then the clerk posts the notice within a 24 hour period. This posts takes 30 days. Then “lead agency” holds onto the NOE for nine months. What this process does is shorten the time in which anyone can file a legal challenge to the exemption.
• #21: If your project is NOT exempt, then prepare an initial study to find out what document you will need to do.
• #23: Be sure it includes all actions Construction and project implementation Temporary and permanent activities All discretionary permits and entitlements Reasonably foreseeable future phases Be sure it includes all improvements On and off site traffic and infrastructure
• #25: Checklists can’t be naked…court case decided this Court Case: Citizens Association for Sensible Development of Bishop Area v. County of Inyo …have to have substantial evidence backing up your checkboxes!
• #29: Must be feasible: USE ENGINEERS TO DECIDE THIS TOO Capable of being accomplished in a successful manner within a reasonable period of time, taking into account economic, environmental, legal, social, and technological factors (CCR §15364)
• #32: A project EIR examines the environmental impacts of a specific development project, reviewing all phases of the project, including planning, construction, and operation. No further environmental review under CEQA is required following preparation of a project EIR. A program EIR is prepared for a series of actions that can be characterized as one large project Allows the lead agency to consider broad policy alternatives and program-wide mitigation measures Subsequent project specific activities in the program are examined in light of the program EIR to determine if additional environmental compliance is required.
• #41: Environmental Setting Description of physical environmental conditions at the time of the NOP, or when environmental analysis is commenced, if no NOP Baseline for environmental analysis, which is normally the setting at time of NOP Regional setting and rare or unique resources Significant environmental effects thresholds of significance direct and indirect, short- and long-term, all phases effect of bringing people/development to an area Significant effects that cannot be avoided Irreversible environmental changes Growth-inducing impacts foster economic or population growth remove obstacles to population growth Alternatives offer environmental advantage Avoid or lessen an impact Feasible Alternatives “ capable of being accomplished in a successful manner within a reasonable period of time, taking into account economic, environmental, social, and technological factors.” A Range of Reasonable Alternatives Environmentally Superior Alternative Can identify alternatives found to be infeasible
• #50: Certify the FEIR has been conducted in accordance with CEQA procedures the FEIR was presented to the decision maker and they have reviewed and considered it the FEIR reflects the independent judgment of the city FINDINGS: findings regarding each impact and mitigation measures, findings regarding the feasibility of alternatives (reasons for rejecting them), Statement of Overriding: Reasons to approve a project where significant impacts are not avoided or substantially lessened. Supported by substantial evidence in the record Reasons can be economic, legal, social, technological or other (CCR § 15093)
• #54: Specific project features: WWTP, oxidation ditches, clarifiers, calculated flow rates, project footprint, what type of construction equipment is needed, buildout timeframe, etc. All types of engineers are needed, not only civil engineers, but also structural, electrical, and mechanical engineers.
• #55: Again, ask your consultant what questions they are trying to clearly answer or show evidence for….
• #56: Examples Engineering Firms: CH2M Hill, Kennedy Jenks, CEI Engineering, Blair, Church and Flynn, Provost and Pritchard
• #57: California Land Use Planning Information Network has information grouped by counties or regions, all sorts of tools for answering checklist questions, generals plans, habitat conservation plans, links to fish and game regulations, maps, zoning regulations, etc