Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
impacts on open space and other environmental resources could have been
devastating.
8.6.2.1 CEQAProcess
Compliance with CEQA is the responsibility of each California agency or other
government entity. Similar to NEPA (but different from MEPA, Massachusetts
equivalent) there is no command and control agency policing compliance with
the regulations and guidance. Thus litigation and the court of public opin-
ion are the only checks on agency compliance. However, somewhat similar to
NEPA's Council on Environmental Quality, the California Office of Planning
and Research develops, reviews, and periodically revises the general guidance
for CEQA compliance. Each government agency is then required to develop
specific procedures compliant with the general guidance, which is adapted
to their mission and specific conditions. The Office of Planning and Research
has been diligent in preparing and updating the guidance, including the level
of detail and specificity, which is unparalleled in any other state or national
environmental analysis program. As a result, most other agencies have not
seen the need to develop separate and agency-speciic procedures or guidance
and deferred to the Office of Planning and Research guidance.
The CEQA process starts when a government agency anticipates directly tak-
ing action, or becomes aware that they will have to issue an approval of a privately
initiated action resulting in physical alteration of an environmental resource.
The first step in the process is for the public agency to determine whether
the anticipated activity is a “project” under CEQA, which they do by careful
review of the 450 plus pages of CEQA and associated guidance (Association of
Environmental Professionals 2012). If the activity meets one or more of the gen-
eral criteria for coverage, the next step is to determine whether an exemption
applies to the specific type of activity, location, or category of activities. This
is no small task, as there are over 25 pages of exemptions and more are added
every year. For example, the Olympics were exempted, and recent efforts have
made the Act lenient on activities such as geothermal energy, which are con-
sidered environmentally sustainable. Also, there are a number of initiatives in
California, such as thermal generation of electricity, which are covered by paral-
lel programs with their own environmental analysis requirements and thus are
exempted from CEQA in a manner similar to the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) hazardous waste projects
exemption from NEPA. Also similar to NEPA, there are provisions for categori-
cal exclusions of certain actions from further CEQA action based on absence of
significant impact as determined from past agency experience. If the activity is
determined to be a “project” under CEQA, is not categorically excluded, and it is
not exempt, they must then make a general determination as to the possibility of
significant effects on the environment. If the activity clears this hurdle, then the
CEQA process starts in earnest.
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