The Master EIR: Another Option

The Master EIR procedure is an alternative to preparing a project EIR, staged EIR or program EIR, or tiering environmental documents for subsequent projects upon earlier EIRs. Although there are similarities between the Master EIR and these other procedures, the Master EIR requirements stand alone. At its discretion, a Lead Agency may prepare a Master EIR for any one of the following projects:

"(1) A general plan, element, general plan amendment, or specific plan.

"(2) A project that consists of smaller individual projects which will be carried out in phases.

"(3) A rule or regulation which will be implemented by subsequent projects.

"(4) Projects which will be carried out or approved pursuant to a development agreement.

"(5) Public or private projects which will be carried out or approved pursuant to, or in furtherance of, a redevelopment plan.

"(6) A state highway project or mass transit project which will be subject to multiple stages of review or approval."

"(7) A regional transportation plan or congestion management plan.

"(8) A plan proposed by a local agency for the reuse of a federal military base or reservation that has been closed or that is proposed for closure." (Section 21157)

The above list should be viewed as classes of project for which a Master EIR may be prepared. For example, a "general plan" may include a community plan, a "project that consists of smaller individual projects" may include a capital improvement plan or drainage control project, and a "rule or regulation" may include a zoning ordinance or hillside development standards. For the sake of simplicity, throughout this advisory the categories of projects described above will be referred to simply as "plans" or "plans and programs."

Contents of a Master EIR

Section 21157 specifies the minimum contents of a Master EIR (See Appendix 2 for an outline). In addition to the items otherwise required of all EIRs pursuant to Section 21100, a Master EIR must include the following additional information:

1. A description of each anticipated subsequent project that is to be considered within the scope of the Master EIR, including information with regard to the kind, size, intensity, and location of the subsequent projects. The accuracy and completeness of these descriptions is crucial to the use of the Master EIR for streamlining subsequent project approvals. The descriptions must include, but are not limited to, all of the following:

A. The specific type of project anticipated to be undertaken. Describe its basic character -- i.e., single-family residential subdivision, mixed residential and retail development, commercial power center, warehouse and distribution center, rail transit facility, sewage collections system, road extension, etc. -- as well as its necessary entitlements such as a rezoning, subdivision, or precise development plan.

B. The maximum and minimum intensity of any anticipated subsequent project. For a residential project, this should include the type (i.e., single family, multi-family, mixed use, etc.) and number of dwellings per acre. A commercial project's intensity might be characterized as square feet of area or floor area ratio. With regard to a public works facility, its anticipated capacity and service area can describe its intensity.

Local agencies may be able to increase their ability to rely upon a Master EIR for streamlining subsequent approvals by specifying intensity levels with respect to particular environmental impacts. The Master EIR would effectively establish an envelope of analysis for each such impact. Projects exceeding the envelope would require additional analysis -- those within the envelope might not.

C. The anticipated location and alternative locations for any subsequent development projects. Describe the location and land area (i.e., acreage, square feet) of the subsequent project. Discuss feasible alternative locations that would meet the same public objectives as the subsequent project. For linear facilities such as roads or rail transit, discuss alternative alignments and terminals. This may be done by making reference to general or community plans where applicable.

D. A capital outlay or capital improvement program, or other scheduling or implementing device that governs the submission and approval of subsequent projects. Describe how the jurisdiction will ensure that sufficient infrastructure will be available to serve the project, including financing mechanisms if appropriate. For public works projects, describe the mechanism or process of allocating capital funds as well as the availability of funding. Alternatively, the MEIR may explain why particular planning considerations make it impractical to identify any such program or scheduling at the time the MEIR is prepared (CEQA Guidelines Section 15176(b)(4)).

CEQA Guidelines Section 15176(d) provides that when an MEIR is certified for a general plan, general plan element, general plan amendment, or specific plan, subsequent projects will be considered to be adequately described for later use of the MEIR when the land use designations and permissible densities and intensities of the project site are identified in the MEIR and the general plan or specific plan. Obviously, this would apply only to projects that are consistent with the plan, element, or amendment for which the MEIR was certified.

2. A description of the potential impacts of anticipated projects for which there is not sufficient information reasonably available to support a full assessment of potential impacts in the Master EIR. The Lead Agency is not required to speculate about potential impacts of anticipated projects. It should specify those descriptions which are intended to generally identify and discuss potential impacts for which full information is not available in the Master EIR being prepared. Because full information is not available, inclusion of such descriptions within the Master EIR does not preclude the Focused EIR from being required to discuss the potential impacts in greater detail and adding discussion of other impacts which had not been identified in the Master EIR. In other words, the scope of a Focused EIR is not limited to the potential impacts described in the Master EIR.

Procedural Requirements

Notice requirements, comment periods, and other procedural requirements for EIRs also apply to a Master EIR. Beyond that, the Lead Agency should specify in the document and in related notices that the document being prepared, circulated, and considered is a Master EIR.

While the procedures are identical, the greater level of detail which distinguishes a Master EIR from other subsequent review provisions such as a program EIR requires the Lead Agency to pay particular attention to maintaining strict consistency between the contents of the Master EIR and the plan or person which is the subject of the Master EIR. There is less assurance that the Master EIR can be used for later projects where such consistency is lacking. Here are two strategies for achieving consistency. They are by no means the only ones.

• Concurrent Action: Run the period for review and comment on the draft Master EIR concurrently with hearings on the draft plan. Close both the taking of public comment and testimony on the plan, and the review period for the draft at the same time. Incorporate any changes made to the draft plan into the Master EIR and vice versa. Reconvene to act on both the final plan and the Master EIR. Certify the final Master EIR and adopt the plan at the same meeting.
  
• Sequential Action: Wait to begin circulating the draft Master EIR until public testimony has been completed on the draft plan or program. Close the taking of public testimony on the plan. Circulate the draft Master EIR for comment. At the end of the comment period and prior to certification of the final Master EIR, reconvene to revise the draft plan or program to conform to changes made in the draft Master EIR. Limit revisions to those necessary to achieve conformity. Certify the final Master EIR and adopt the plan or program at the same meeting.

Fee

Given the required level of detail, in most cases a Master EIR can be expected to be more expensive to prepare than a program or staged EIR. To help counter the cost of a Master EIR, AB 1888 augments CEQA's fee authority by specifically enabling a Lead Agency to develop and implement a Master EIR fee program (Section 21157, subdivision (c)). A city or county could, for example, establish a fee program whereunder participating developers would have their projects specifically identified in a Master EIR. The city or county would receive contributions toward completing a Master EIR; developers would benefit from streamlined environmental review for their projects.

Reevaluation

For the first five years after certification, a Master EIR may be utilized for subsequent projects described in it without having to reevaluate its adequacy (Section 21157.6). During this period, the agency's review of subsequent projects is limited to whether any new impacts will occur and whether the proposal was identified in the Master EIR.

If an application for a subsequent project is filed more than five years from certification of the Master EIR, or if during the five years another project has been approved which was not described in and potentially affects the adequacy of the Master EIR, then the agency must, prior to applying the Master EIR to the subsequent project, review the adequacy of the Master EIR and either:

1. Make written findings that "no substantial changes have occurred with respect to the circumstances under which the [Master EIR] was certified or that no new information, which was not known and could not have been known at the time that the [Master EIR] was certified has become available." In the recent Laurel Heights decision, the California Supreme Court noted that the CEQA Guidelines "generally define 'new information' as information which shows that the project will have new or more severe 'significant effects' on the environment not disclosed in the prior EIR." (Laurel Heights Improvement Association v. Regents of the University of California (1993) 6 Cal.4th 1112, citing Guidelines Section 15162(a)(3)) The findings should be supported by substantial evidence in the record.

2. Certify "a subsequent or supplemental EIR which has been either incorporated into the previously certified [Master EIR], or references any deletions, additions, or other modifications to the previously certified [Master EIR]." A subsequent or supplemental EIR would be required when the provisions of Section 21166 apply.

To maximize the benefits of a Master EIR, the lead agency could establish a program for keeping track of projects which are approved within the area for which the MEIR was certified (i.e., the potential impacts of those projects, whether they are within the scope of the MEIR, and whether a focused EIR, negative declaration, or other environmental document is prepared) and monitoring changes in the plan or program or other factors that would trigger the need for a subsequent or supplemental EIR. One way to do this is to prepare an annual report on the status of the plan or program.