Michele Messinger who is a CLG and CEQA Coordinator described how an important tool in the CLG process, CEQA, or the California Environmental Quality Act functions. CEQA, which was adopted in 1970, serves as to inform governmental decision makers and the public about the potential, significant environmental effects of proposed activities. The law was also designed to identify ways that environmental damage can be avoided or significantly reduced when approaching any construction project. Messinger explained that basic purposes of CEQA include preventing significant, avoidable damage to the environment by creating alternatives or planning mitigations. 

A CEQA document, which must be prepared for certain qualifying projects, also discloses to the public the reasons why a governmental agency, such as a city or county, approved a specific project if significant environmental effects are involved. CEQA applies to projects undertaken, funded or requiring an issuance of a permit by a public or state agency, but it does not apply to ministerial projects. A ministerial project is one that requires only conformance with a fixed standard and requires little or no personal judgment by a public official.  Messinger went on to explain that while CEQA requires all of these administrative duties it does not prevent projects from being constructed nor does it prevent the demolition or alteration of a historical resource.

What exactly is a project considered to be under the law; A project was specifically defined by Messinger as “an activity which may cause either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.” She pointed out that a Categorical Exemption can be may be filed but is not always required. Categorical exemptions are descriptions of types of projects which the Secretary of the Resources Agency has determined do not usually have a significant effect on the environment. She went on to explain that if exemptions do not apply to project and it is not ministerial then the project is discretionary and the lead agency involved evaluates the project to determine if there is a possibility that the project may have a significant effect on environment. A lead agency can be any city or county governmental body. When a project requires approvals from more than one public agency, for example a city, the water agency and a sewer authority, CEQA requires one of these public agencies to serve as the "lead agency." A lead agency must complete the environmental review process required by CEQA.

The most basic steps of the environmental review process are: to 1)Determine if the activity is a "project" subject to CEQA;

2)Determine if the "project" is exempt from CEQA;

3)Perform an Initial Study to identify the environmental impacts of the project and determine whether the identified impacts are "significant".

Based on its findings of "significance", the lead agency then prepares an environmental review documents. These options consist of:  a Negative Declaration meaning the lead agency finds no "significant" impacts; a Mitigated Negative Declaration meaning they find "significant" impacts but revises the project to avoid or mitigate those significant impacts; or finally an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) if there are "significant" impacts in the findings. While there are no specific definitions of what "significance" is, the State CEQA Guidelines provides criteria to lead agencies in determining whether a project may have significant effects. An EIR is defined as a document required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). It describes a particular project location in its existing setting, describes the impacts which a project will have on the environment both on and adjacent to the property, and proposes mitigation measures. A draft of this document is first released before a final EIR is considered The Draft EIR must : discuss alternatives that would reduce or eliminate environmental effects; describe all reasonable alternatives; include a “no project”  scenario; if historical resources are present, one alternative must be to preserve the resource. The public most be noticed and the document must be circulated for review and available for comment.

A public comment period for a Draft EIR is typically 45-60 days. If need be, then the document is revised or changed during this process and then moves on to becoming a final EIR. The public will again be given time to review the document and provide comment, and if determined to be necessary, revised again. As Amador County grows we are experiencing more and more of these types of required documents and the meetings that go along with them. One such of those meetings will be held tonight in the city of Jackson as the City’s Planning Commission hold a special meeting tonight to review the Jackson Hills Golf Community proposal for 540 new homes and a golf course on about 500 acres off French bar Rd in  Jackson. That meeting is at the Jackson Civic Center at 6pm. Call 223-1646 for any questions.