ceqa guidelines 15378

1422.) and Note filed 5-27-97; operative 5-27-97 pursuant to Government Code section Emergency repairs to publicly or privately owned service facilities necessary to maintain service essential to the public health, safety or welfare. of an historical resource. Among other things, the CEQA Guidelines explain how to determine whether an activity is subject to environmental review, what steps are involved in the environmental review process, and the required content of environmental documents. Accordingly, the proposed action qualifies for a Class 6 Categorical Exemption (Section 15306 of the State CEQA Guidelines). If approval of the 2022 Agreement did constitute a project subject to CEQA, the action would be exempt from CEQA review pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines 15061(b)(3) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that approval of the 2022 Agreement may have a significant effect on the environment. ]Qov3Ef^R%TAo*h x[QQ @s,a>P0h*]`eUc. _8>/euzZ.I1 rwL8HC#^. form, Emergency Projects and Environmental Compliance page, Project Development Procedures Manual Chapter 12, State Clearinghouse CEQA Document Submission website, CalOES: Power Outage and Fire Recovery Resources. Grant programs to support local, regional, and tribal climate adaptation and resilience. The recommended actions do not authorize or commit the CVWD or DWR to expenditure of the funding on any site-specific project. The actions are exempt under the common sense exemption in State CEQA Guidelines 15061, subdivision (b)(3) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the actions may have a significant effect on the environment. The Colorado River (River) has been experiencing prolonged drought since 2000, during which time the total system storage has declined from 57 million acre feet (maf) (95% full) to a historically low volume of 19.54 maf in October 2022 (33% full). (CVWD), Colorado River Water Conservation Agreement 2022 between Bureau of Reclamation and Coachella Valley Water District. endstream endobj startxref Levy Groundwater Replenishment Facility for the remainder of CY22. [Citations. PreliminaryReview Therequired CEQA review process can result in three different determination/document typesan All separate permits and approvals for a particular project shall be considered together along with the underlying activity itself when determining the project's environmental In November of 2020, CVWD established previous commitments to support the planning phase of the Delta Conveyance Project, these prior commitments include. In the list that follows, the classes set forth in CEQA Guidelines Sections 15301 - 15332 are shown in bold italics, with further elaboration or explanation for applying these exemptions in San Francisco shown in normal upper- and lower-case type. Disclaimer: The Governors Office of Planning and Research (OPR) accepts no responsibility for the content or accessibility of these documents. . Caltrans documents its determination that a project meets the criteria of a categorical exemption by completing the CE/CE form and retaining it in the project file. office of the county clerk. When The project may cause a substantial adverse change in the significance Article 19 - Categorical Exemptions. COUNTY OF VENTURA, ET AL. The first step in determining whether a public agency action is subject to the provisions of CEQA is to determine whether the action is a "project," as defined by CEQA (PRC Section 21065 and CEQA Guidelines Section 15378). Copyright CEQA Guidelines Association of Environmental Professionals 2020 267 Note: Authority cited: Sections Section 21083, Public Resources Code; References: Sections 21080 and 21080.32, Public Resources Code. place will result in cumulative impacts; There are "unusual circumstances" The overall activities involve CEQA analysis, environmental permitting, and design and engineering to support those pre-construction planning activities for the DCP. 1280 0 obj <> endobj An addendum to the Mitigated Negative Declaration (State Clearinghouse No. 3700X*{sFRj }],(M'SL7|;pEGIr P,=5],G{ &TYY8s8V-5U/b25v)_g+t`*c#Xa7TlHqYJCeQnXDA5 A4u~v"P+DF!W,Q>PmTE1%TAM){(2l(JnB]BeU !h#\A2YPS&\IBh^PgBA^~tEifmAg7VU6;r'xJUj R) [Dd2X n/ 'J qR(c|x8K?sw{C Zd1^2`mTT?9lJ6nS\cWve;kTr`~KLM@ W!u}u(%)vb?%%!l? Responsible agencies must actively participate in the lead agency's CEQA process and consider the lead agencys environmental document prior to acting upon or approving the project. When a local agency files this notice, the NOE must be filed with the The CPUC maintains websites for both current projects and past projects: Investor-owned utilities are required to obtain a permit from the CPUC for construction of certain specified infrastructure listed under Public Utilities Code sections 1001. The Court further rejected the District's attempt to rely on another categorical exemption, Guidelines 15378(b)(5), which states that "[o]rganizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment" are not CEQA projects. The CEQA Guidelines (Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3 of the California Code of Regulations) are administrative regulations governing implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act. " Project " means an activity which may cause either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and which is any of the following: (a) An activity directly undertaken by any public agency. Article 5. potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment." (CEQA Guidelines 15378(a). Christine Asiata Rodriguez, is the Manager of the State Clearinghouse (SCH) at the Governors Office of Planning and Research (OPR). The CPUC reviews permit applications under two concurrent processes: (1) an environmental review pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and (2) the review of project need and costs pursuant to Public Utilities Code (PU Code) sections 1001 et seq. by fire, flood, storm, earthquake, land subsidence, gradual earth hb```?*JB ce`ax`ue Approve exemptions to further review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to exceptions in sections 15061(b)(3) and 15378 of Chapter 3 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations (the CEQA Guidelines); 2. HARLAN, SUSAN C to projects with no significant environmental effect (see below). Cal. Posted in , , CEQA Guidelines, , Land Use, Litigation, Mitigation, Project Description, Standard of Review, Water Supply. hb```"6V ea rXNQru=%wK} U,u*#Gq)Z\eWF) The Delta Conveyance Projects (DCP or project) primary objective is to protect the State Water Projects (SWP) ability to continue to reliably deliver water south of the Delta. Send Print Report. [RMM Counsel of record: Whitman F. Manley, Tiffany K. Importantly, the court . Typically, "project approval" means that the Project Report or equivalent is approved by the District Director or designee. 9-7-2004; operative 9-7-2004 pursuant to Public Resources Code section 21083(e) of a regional transportation improvement program, the state transportation Guideline 15378 defines a project, in relevant part, as the whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. Preliminary Review of Projects and Conduct of Initial Study 15061. Review for Exemption (a) Once a lead agency has determined that an activity is a project subject to CEQA, a lead agency shall determine whether the project is exempt from CEQA. amendment of Note filed 10-26-98; operative 10-26-98 pursuant to Public Resources The notice is filed with the SCH via CEQA Submit. C. . being affected by hazardous wastes or clean-up problems; or. Your subscription was successfully upgraded. A ministerial action is a governmental decision involving little or These actions are not First, approval of the 2022 Agreement is not subject to CEQA because it does not constitute a "project," i.e., pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines 15378(a), the action has no potential to result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment because the action will merely establish a temporary agreement to forgo use of a small portion of CVWDs Colorado River water entitlement to assist in stabilizing levels in the Colorado River system. The Act establishes a state policy of sustainability: to "create and maintain conditions under which man and nature can exist in productive harmony to fulfill the social and economic requirements of present and future generations." The Guidelines provide examples of projects undertaken directly by a public agency, such as "public works construction and . Document signatures by the Project Manager and the District/Region Senior Environmental subsection (d) and Note filed 10-6-2005 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California CVWD proposes to continue funding to complete the last two years (CY 2023 and 2024) of the planning phase. The filing of an NOE and the posting on the list of notices starts a 35-day statute of limitations period on legal challenges to the agency's decision that the project is exempt from CEQA. If the project is determined to be categorically exempt, Caltrans must consider whether the exemption is negated by an exception pursuant to CEQA Guidelines, Section 15300.2, and Public Resources Code, Section 21084. Jeannie Lee is Chief Counsel at OPR where she works on a broad range of legal and policy issues related to CEQA, land use, climate, and transportation. hb```nA^A1A[ d4: The entire rulemaking package filed with OAL on January 4, 2013, including the final adopted regulations, can be found here: Documents Uploaded During the . Ventura County (1975) 51 Cal.App.3d 648; and Communities for a Better Environment v. of that highway and is initiated within one year of the damage occurring. 1. CATEGORICAL EXEMPTIONS If you wish to keep the information in your envelope between pages, CEQA. Copies of all such notices shall be available for public inspection A lead agency is the public agency that has the principal responsibility for carrying out or approving a project. A project that is ordinarily insignificant (CEQA) and State and County CEQA Guidelines because the action is: (1) categorically exempt under Section 15301 of the CEQA Guidelines, Existing Facilities, as it involves . The project description is the defining element or starting point for every CEQA environmental document, be it an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) or Negative Declaration (ND). 24. 132 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<77DEEF012D5FF742BC0D017986EA08D2>]/Index[99 61]/Info 98 0 R/Length 142/Prev 202876/Root 100 0 R/Size 160/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream As a responsible agency, we must consider the environmental effects of the grading as shown in EIR and Addendums, and make the appropriate . The City Council shall act on the CEQA appeal within 75 days after the expiration of the appeal period or within any additional period mutually agreed upon by the applicant and the City Council. What is a Project Description? endstream endobj startxref Thus, even if the Lead Agency needs to grant more than one approval for a project, only one CEQA document should be prepared. Below are resources for permit applicants and public parties interested in participating in CPUC's environmental review and/or the CPUC's economic and need assessment for a particular project. It is estimated that the contribution volume will be approximately 10,000 acre feet (af). 2. Will YIGBYs say 'Hallelujah!' in 2023? Thus, to the extent the proposed actions involve or may affect areas outside of California, such as at Lake Mead or on the portions of the Colorado River in Nevada or Arizona, they are exempt from CEQA under a Statutory Exemption (Public Resources Code Section 21080(b)(14) and State CEQA Guidelines Section 15277). Resources Code 21100.1, 21000(a) ("maintenance of a quality environment for the people of this state now and in the future is a A "project" has two essential elements. The State CEQA Guidelines: These are the CEQA regulations and are labeled "guidelines" because they contain many advisory and permissive interpretations in addition to mandatory requirements. registrations and some building permits limited to determining proper Were the actions to be considered a CEQA project, these actions would be statutorily exempt from environmental review pursuant to State CEQA Guideline 15262 because the actions merely call for the funding and completion of feasibility and planning studies, not including the completion of CEQA review itself. For more information, please visit OPRs Accessibility Site. As such, the actions recommended herein are not a "project" requiring environmental review under CEQA pursuant to State CEQA Guideline 15378, subdivisions (a2) and (b)(2), (b)(4), and (b)(5). disaster stricken area in which a state of emergency has been proclaimed or subjective judgments in deciding whether or how the project should 2 Id. Furthermore, where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA (Section 1506l(b)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines). Ministerial actions, by definition, are not "projects" because Therefore, responsible agencies must participate early and actively in the lead agency's CEQA process to ensure its concerns are met. These classes are known as categorical exemptions. However, The establishment of the temporary agreement will not result in adverse impacts to the environment in regards to the Coachella Valley Groundwater Basin, as no significant changes will be made to the existing agreements. To obtain an attachment in a different format, please contact the lead agency at the contact information listed above. 15378 PROJECT "Project" means the whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change . 2. The Infrastructure Permitting and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Section of the Energy Division conducts and manages environmental reviews of infrastructure projects that are required to file for permits at the CPUC. Projects to maintain, repair, restore, demolish, or replace property To support this conclusion, the Court looked to the CEQA Guidelines' interpretation of what constitutes a "project" for purposes of CEQA.