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GENERAL CEQA INFORMATION |
Lead Agency (CEQA Guidelines Section 15367) -- the public agency that has the principal responsibility for carrying out or approving a project. Criteria for determining which agency will be the Lead Agency for a project are contained in Section 15051.
Local Agency (CEQA Guidelines Section 15368) -- any public agency other than a state agency, board, or commission.
Public Agency (CEQA Guidelines Section 15379) -- includes any state agency, board, or commission and any local or regional agency, as defined in the CEQA Guidelines. It does not include agencies of the federal government.
Responsible Agency (CEQA Guidelines Section 15381) -- a public agency that proposes to carry out or approve a project, for which a Lead Agency is preparing or has prepared an EIR or Negative Declaration. For purposes of CEQA, the term "Responsible Agency" includes all public agencies other than the Lead Agency that have discretionary approval power over the project.
State Agency (CEQA Guidelines Section 15383) -- a governmental agency in the executive branch of state government and funded primarily by the State Treasury. Health and Safety Code Section 25199.1 (o) defines a "state agency" as "any agency, board, or commission of state government . . . include[ing] an air pollution control district and an air quality management district."
Trustee Agency (CEQA Guidelines Section 15386) -- a state agency having jurisdiction by law over natural resources affected by a project that are held in trust for the people of the State of California. Trustee agencies include:
It is the responsibility of the Lead Agency to determine the appropriate type of CEQA document for its project based on interpretation of the CEQA Statutes and CEQA Guidelines.
Negative Declaration (CEQA Guidelines, Section 15371) -- a written statement by the Lead Agency briefly describing the reasons why a proposed project, not exempt from CEQA, will not have a significant effect on the environment and, therefore, does not require the preparation of an EIR.
The contents of the Negative Declaration are described in CEQA Guidelines, Section 15071.
Environmental Impact Report (CEQA Guidelines, Section 15362) -- a detailed statement prepared under CEQA describing and analyzing the significant environmental effects of a project and discussing ways to mitigate or avoid the effects. The contents are also listed under CEQA Guidelines, Article 9.
Notice of Preparation (CEQA Guidelines, Section 15375) -- a brief notice sent by a Lead Agency to notify the Responsible, Trustee, and involved federal agencies that the Lead Agency plans to prepare an EIR for the project. The purpose of the notice is to solicit guidance from those agencies as to the scope and content of the environmental information to be included in the EIR.
Project EIR (CEQA Guidelines, Section 15161) -- The most common type of EIR examines the environmental impacts of a specific development project. This type of EIR should focus primarily on the changes in the environment that would result from the development project. The EIR shall examine all phases of the project including planning, construction, and operation.
Program EIR (CEQA Guidelines, Section 15168) -- an EIR that may be prepared on a series of actions that can be characterized as one large project and are related either geographically, or are "logical parts in the chain of contemplated actions, or are in connection with issuance of rules, regulations, plans, or other general criteria to govern the conduct of a continuing program, or as individual activities carried out under the same authorizing statutory or regulatory authority and having generally similar environmental effects which can be mitigated in similar ways."
Supplement to an EIR (CEQA Guidelines, Section 15163) -- The Lead or Responsible Agency may choose to prepare a supplement to an EIR rather than a subsequent EIR if only minor additions or changes would be necessary to make the previous EIR adequately apply to the project in the changed situation.
The supplement to the EIR need contain only the information necessary to make the previous EIR adequate for the project as revised. A supplement to an EIR shall be given the same kind of notice and public review as is given to a draft EIR under Section 15087. A supplement to an EIR may be circulated by itself without re-circulating the previous draft or final EIR.
Subsequent EIR and Negative Declaration (CEQA Guidelines, Section 15162) -- Where an EIR or Negative Declaration has been prepared, it is not necessary to prepare an additional EIR or Negative Declaration unless substantial changes occur with respect to the circumstances under which the project is undertaken, and these changes will require important revisions in the previous EIR or Negative Declaration due to the involvement of new significant environmental impacts not covered in a previous document.
Addendum to an EIR or Negative Declaration (CEQA Guidelines, Section 15164) -- The Lead or Responsible Agency shall prepare an addendum to an EIR or Negative Declaration if only minor technical changes or additions are necessary to make the document adequate, and the changes made by the addendum do not raise important new issues about the significant effects on the environment.
An addendum need not be circulated for public review but can be included in or attached to the final EIR or adopted Negative Declaration. The decision-making body shall consider the addendum with the final EIR or Negative Declaration prior to making a decision on the project.
Final EIR (CEQA Guidelines, Sections 15132 and 15362) -- an EIR containing the information contained in the draft EIR, comments either verbatim or in summary received in the review process, a list of persons commenting, and the response of the Lead Agency to the comments received.
Authority to Comment (CEQA Guidelines, Section 15044) -- Any person or entity other than a Responsible Agency may submit comments to a Lead Agency concerning any environmental effects of a project being considered by the Lead Agency.
Response to Notice of Preparation (CEQA Guidelines, Section 15082[b] and Section 15103) --- Within 30 days after receiving the Notice of Preparation, each Responsible Agency shall provide the Lead Agency with specific detail about the scope and content of the environmental information related to the Responsible Agency's area of statutory responsibility which must be included in the draft EIR.
The response, at a minimum, shall identify the significant environmental issues and reasonable alternatives and mitigation measures that the Responsible Agency will need to have explored in the DEIR. The response shall also identify whether the agency will be a Responsible Agency or Trustee Agency for the project.
If a Responsible Agency fails to reply within 30 days with either a response or a well-justified request for additional time, the Lead Agency may assume that the Responsible Agency has no response to make and ignore a late response.
Responsible Agency Comments on Draft EIRs and Negative Declarations (CEQA Guidelines, Section 15096[d]) -- A Responsible Agency should review and comment on draft EIRs and Negative Declarations for projects that the Responsible Agency would later be asked to approve. Comments should focus on any shortcomings in the EIR, the appropriateness of using a Negative Declaration, or additional alternatives or mitigation measures the EIR should include. The comments shall be limited to those project activities within the agency's area of expertise or that are required to be carried out or approved by the agency or that will be subject to the exercise of powers by the agency. Comments shall be as specific as possible and supported by either oral or written documentation.
Consideration of Comments on a Negative Declaration (CEQA Guidelines, Section 15074[b]) -- Prior to approving the project, the decision-making body of the Lead Agency shall consider the proposed Negative Declaration together with any comments received during the public review process. They shall approve the project if they find there is no substantial evidence the project will have a significant effect on the environment.
Evaluation of and Response to EIR Comments (CEQA Guidelines, Section 15088) -- The Lead Agency shall evaluate comments on environmental issues received from persons who reviewed the draft EIR and shall prepare a written response. The Lead Agency shall respond to comments received during the noticed comment period and any extensions and may respond to late comments.
The written response shall describe the disposition of significant environmental issues raised (e.g., revisions to the proposed project to mitigate anticipated impacts or objections). In particular, the major environmental issues raised when the Lead Agency's position varies from recommendations and objections raised in the comments must be addressed in detail giving reasons why specific comments and suggestions were not accepted. There must be good faith, reasoned analysis in response. Conclusory statements unsupported by factual information will not suffice.
The response to comments may take the form of a revision to the draft EIR or may be a separate section in the final EIR. Where the response to comments makes important changes in the information contained in the text of the draft EIR, the Lead Agency should either revise the text in the body of the EIR, or include marginal notes showing that the information is revised in the response to comments.
Contents of the Final EIR (CEQA Guidelines, Section 15132[d]) -- The Final EIR shall consist of, among other things, the responses of the Lead Agency to significant environmental points raised in the review and consultation process.
Failure to Comment (CEQA Guidelines, Section 15207) -- If any public agency or person who is consulted with regard to an EIR or Negative Declaration fails to comment within a reasonable time as specified by the Lead Agency, it shall be assumed, without a request for a specific extension of time, that such agency or person has no comment to make. Although the Lead Agency need not respond to late comments, it may choose to respond.
Retention and Availability of Comments (CEQA Guidelines, Section 15208) -- Comments received through the consultation process shall be retained for a reasonable period and available for public inspection at an address given in the final EIR. Comments that may be received on a draft EIR or Negative Declaration under preparation shall also be considered and kept on file.
As defined in the CEQA Guidelines, Section 15200, the purposes of reviewing Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs) and Negative Declarations include:
a) Sharing expertise,
b) Disclosing agency analyses,
c) Checking for accuracy,
d) Detecting omissions,
e) Discovering public concerns, and
f) Soliciting counter proposals.