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CEQA Guidelines

2009 SB 97 Rulemaking

The Natural Resources Agency received recommended Amendments to the CEQA Guidelines for greenhouse gas emissions from the Governor's Office of Planning and Research on April 13, 2009. On July 3, 2009, the Natural Resources Agency commenced the Administrative Procedure Act rulemaking process for certifying and adopting these amendments pursuant to Public Resources Code section 21083.05. Following a 55 day public comment period, and two public hearings, and in response to comments, the Natural Resources Agency proposed revisions to the text of the Proposed Guidelines Amendments. The Natural Resources Agency invited additional public comment on that revised text for a 20 day public comment period. Having reviewed and considered all comments received on the originally proposed text and the proposed revisions, the Natural Resources Agency adopted the CEQA Guidelines Amendments with minor, non-substantial changes.

The Natural Resources Agency transmitted the Adopted Amendments and the entire rulemaking file to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) on December 31, 2009. OAL has 30 working days to review the Adopted Amendments and the Natural Resources Agency's rulemaking file. The Adopted Amendments will become effective 30 days after OAL completes its review and submits them to the Secretary of State for inclusion in the California Code of Regulations.

Adopted Text of the CEQA Guidelines Amendments

The Natural Resources Agency would like to express its deep appreciation to the numerous organizations, agencies and individuals that participated in the development of the CEQA Guidelines Amendments since the enactment of SB 97 in 2007. Your advice, comments and support contributed to the development of amendments that will prove practical and useful, and which will encourage consistency in the analysis and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. That so many dedicated their time and energy over such a long period of time is a testament to the importance of these CEQA Guidelines Amendments.

For more information, please click on a link below to view the Final Statement of Reasons or to view the Text of Adopted CEQA Guidelines Amendments. Text revisions are marked as follows: new additions are underlined and deletions are indicated by strikeout.

• Final Statement of Reasons
• Adopted Text of the CEQA Guidelines Amendments (Adopted December 30, 2009)
• Public Comments (July 2009 to August 2009)
• Summaries and Responses to Public Comments
• Public Comments (October 2009 to November 2009)
• Summaries and Responses to Public Comments

For an overview of the CEQA Guidelines Amendments development process and to view other materials related to the SB 97 Rulemaking, please click on the link below.

Proposed Guidelines Amendments and Related Materials

Check this website periodically for updates. If you have any questions, please contact Christopher Calfee or Ian Peterson.




Past Rulemakings

• 2007 Rule Making

Guidelines as amended July 27, 2007

• The CEQA Guidelines are codified at Title 14 California Code of Regulations section 15000 et seq.
  
  A 2009 update to the CEQA Statute and Guidelines is now available for online viewing. Please click here to download the 2009 CEQA Statute and Guidelines provided free from the Association of Environmental Professionals' website.
  
  This is an unofficial copy of CEQA and the CEQA Guidelines provided by the Association of Environmental Professionals. While AEP has made every effort to see that this book is accurate, and that no changes have been made to the content of these state documents as a result of reformatting and reprinting, readers should reference official state versions to verify accuracy. Readers should also be aware that some changes in statutes, guidelines, or case law may have gone into effect since the date of publication. This book does not attempt to offer legal advice and readers should consult their own attorney.