CEQA ? EIR ? SWRCB ? What are all these things?

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Let me start by saying no single article or set of links could possibly cover this topic completely. There are people who make entire careers dealing with the agencies and regulations involved in planning and development. And while this article won’t make you an overnight expert, it should provide an overview useful as we prepare for the public hearings for the Fiscalini Ranch EIR and the Water Master Plan EIR.

Of EIR and CEQA

Right now there are two very important documents in a “public comment” period of their life cycles: The Fiscalini Ranch Preserve Environmental Impact Report (FRP EIR) and the Water Master Plan Environmental Impact Report (WMP EIR). These EIRs are required by the California Environmental Quality Act – a statute that requires state and local agencies to identify the significant environmental impacts of their actions and to avoid or mitigate (or compensate for) those impacts, if feasible.

CEQA was passed by the State legislature in 1970 in response to a federal protection statute ( NEPA). Most proposals for physical development in California are subject to the provisions of CEQA, as are many governmental decisions which do not immediately result in physical development (the Water Master Plan, for example). The fundamental purpose of the Guidelines is to make the CEQA process comprehensible to those who administer it, to those subject to it, and to those for whose benefit it exists (that would include us). Public agencies are entrusted with compliance with CEQA and its provisions are enforced, as necessary, by the public through litigation and the threat thereof. The purpose of an EIR is to provide State and local agencies and the general public with detailed information on the potentially significant environmental effects which a proposed project is likely to have and to list ways which the significant environmental effects may be minimized and indicate alternatives to the project. CEQA and the EIR it requires open the development process up to everyone who may be affected by the “impacts”. This means we need to take advantage of that right, or we can expect blame to be shifted onto us – Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Fortunately for most of us, there are a number of organizations in this area who regularly keep track of EIRs working their way through the approval process, including Greenspace, the Cambria Land Trust, the Sierra Club, the Land Conservancy and others. These groups speak up when they see a problem with a project. The great democratic thing about CEQA is it gives citizens a role in ensuring the project is acceptable. An interactive version of the process chart here is available at on the CERES website

Click the image to view a larger version.

Focus of Review:

Want to comment on the Water Master Plan EIR or the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve EIR? According to CEQA law, the comments most useful are those that focus on how well the EIR identifies and analyzes on the environment (which is more than just the trees. It is everything tangible and real about the area) and ways in which the significant effects of the project might be avoided or mitigated. Comments are most helpful when they suggest additional specific alternatives or mitigation measures that would provide better ways to avoid or mitigate the significant environmental effects. In other words, comments should not focus on whether or not your support the project, but what changes will be seen if the project is completed. Good Comment: The proposed project does not account for the additional traffic and parking issues. Not as good: We don’t need a sports field.

In the coming days, I will be reading through the  two major EIRs  currently in public comment period. I would like to invite you to add your comments and reactions here on AboutCambria.com, by clicking the “submit a post” tab. Comments on AboutCambria.com CAN include the kind of comments of support or lack of it that aren’t as appropriate for the EIR commenting.

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