| |
INTRODUCTION |
IN 1973, the State Clearinghouse (SCH) was established to receive and distribute environmental documents prepared pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and to coordinate the state-level environmental review process. Located within the Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR), the Clearinghouse is the focal point for state agency involvement in the CEQA environmental review process. Operation of the Clearinghouse is governed by the CEQA Guidelines (California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Sections 15000-15387), which defines the responsibilities of the Clearinghouse and clarifies its role in the environmental review process. Appendix A describes those projects requiring review through the Clearinghouse.
OPR/SCH also functions as the State Single Point of Contact, under Presidential Executive Order 12372, making it responsible for coordinating state and local review of applications for federal grants or loans under state-selected programs. In this capacity, it is also the function of the Clearinghouse to coordinate state and local review of federal financial assistance applications, federally required state plans, direct federal development activities, and federal environmental documents. The purpose of the process is to afford state and local participation in federal activities occurring within California. The Executive Order does not replace public participation, comment, or review requirements of other federal laws, such as the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), but gives the states an additional mechanism to ensure federal agency responsiveness to state and local concerns.
This State Clearinghouse Handbook explains the functions of the Clearinghouse under CEQA and Presidential Executive Order 12372.
Coordinating the Distribution and Review of Environmental
Documents under CEQA
All draft Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs) and draft
Negative Declarations for projects that involve a Responsible
or Trustee state agency or are of statewide, regional, or areawide
significance must be submitted to SCH. It then distributes these
documents to other state agencies and coordinates the transmittal
of comments by the Responsible and Trustee agencies to the Lead
Agency.
Advice and Assistance to Government Agencies and the
Public
The SCH staff provides information and assistance on the
environmental review process to state and local government officials
and the public. The separate Office of Permit Assistance (OPA),
in the Trade and Commerce Agency, is available to organize scoping
meetings and help applicants identify potential Lead, Responsible,
and Trustee agencies. Contact OPA at (916) 322-4245 for help.
Managing Environmental Information
The SCH maintains a computerized information system of
all environmental documents it processes. This valuable information
is available for use by other state agencies, local governments,
and project applicants.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) can be found in the California Public Resources Code beginning at Section 21000. It is important to check for changes annually because the Act is subject to amendment.
The CEQA Guidelines are found in the California Code of Regulations, Title 14, beginning at Section 15000. The current statute and Guidelines (as revised March 29, 1999) are available online at the California Land Use Planning and Information Network (LUPIN) web site.
Return to Index