The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) was enacted over 50 years ago, and the State is finally requiring lead agencies to catch up with technological advancements. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Newsom issued an Executive Order that required public agencies to file CEQA-related reports electronically rather than hard copies, however, the digital process has proven to be more efficient. The intention of AB 819 is to continue to utilize technology and modernize the CEQA filing process. Effective January 1, 2022, lead agencies will be required to submit certain environmental documents and notices to CEQAnet, the online platform managed by the State Clearinghouse at the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR).
On July 16, 2021, the Governor signed Assembly Bill 819 into law, related to filing and distribution of CEQA documents. Before AB 819 was adopted, lead agencies notified the public and interested parties who had requested notices, that the lead agency was preparing an environmental impact report, negative declaration, or specified determination. CEQA requires notices for an environmental impact report to be posted in the office of the county clerk of each county in which the project is located.
Effective January 1, 2022, lead agencies must take the following actions to comply with CEQA:
- File on CEQAnet – Draft environmental impact reports (DEIR), proposed negative declarations (ND), proposed mitigated negative declarations (MND) must be filed electronically on CEQAnet – as opposed to submitting hard copies.
- Post on Agency website – Draft, proposed, and final environmental documents – including DEIRs, EIRs, NDs, MNDs – as well as any notice of preparation (NOP), notice of determination (NOD), notice of completion, or notice of scoping meetings must be posted on the lead agency’s website if it has one. Also, notices of availability (NOAs) and hearings related to the DEIR or ND are required to be posted on the lead agency’s website, in addition to prior methods of giving notice.
- File and Post with County – NODs must be filed electronically with the county clerk if electronic filings are offered by the county. There is an option to post NODs either in the country clerk’s office or on the county clerk’s website for a period of 30 days. Additionally, NOPs and NOAs will need to be posted on the county clerk’s website and physically, by hard copy, in the county clerk’s office.
- Option to email NOPs – If an EIR is required, any NOP may be emailed, rather than mailed, to each entity requiring personal notice – the responsible agency, any public agency with jurisdiction over natural resources affected by the project, and OPR.
- State Agency Filings – State lead agencies are required to file NODs and NOEs electronically on CEQAnet and no longer need to submit hard copies. The filed notice must be available for public inspection on the OPR website for not less than 12 months.
- Public Agency Notice of Completion – Public agencies must file notices of completion on CEQAnet, rather than mailing a paper copy.
Though these new requirements are not effective until next year, we recommend lead agencies transition and prepare for these new requirements by implementing some of these measures to projects carried out this year.
Questions
If you have any questions regarding this Legal Alert, please contact the following attorneys from our office or the attorney with whom you typically consult.
Mona Ebrahimi
mebrahimi@kmtg.com | 916.321.4597
Kathleen F. Leuschen
kleuschen@kmtg.com | 916.321.4347