HomeMy WebLinkAbout1978-05-30 - Resolution No. 78-37YORBA LINDA COUNTY WATER DISTRICT
LOCAL GUIDELINES IMPLEMENTING THE
CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Page
ARTICLE I - PURPOSES AND OBJECTIVES
Section 1. Purposes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Section 2. Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
ARTICLE II - ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATION PROCESS . . . . . . 1
Section 3. Review for Exemptions . . . . . . . . . 1
Section 4. Initial Study . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Section 5. Lead Agency Time Limits . . . . . . . . 4
ARTICLE III - DEFINITIONS
Section
6.
Approval . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
5
Section
7.
Board . .
5
Section
8.
Categorical Exe p
mtion
5
Section
9.
Cumulative Impacts
. . . . . . .
5
Section
10.
Discretionary . . . . . .
. . . .
6
Section
11.
District . . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
6
Section
12.
Emergency . . .
. . . .
6
Section
13.
Environment . . . . . .
. . . .
6
Section
14.
Environmental Documents .
.
6
Section
15.
Environmental Impact Repor
t (EIR)
6
Section
16.
EIS - Environmental Impact
Statement
6
Section
17.
State Guidelines . . . . .
. . . . . . .
6
Section
18.
Feasible . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
7
Section
19.
Initial Study . . . . .
. . . . . .
7
Section
20.
Jurisdiction by Law . . .
. . . . . . .
7
Section
21.
Lead Agency . . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
7
Section
22.
Negative Declaration . . .
. . . . . . .
8
Section
23.
Notice of Completion . . .
. . . . . . .
8
Section
24.
Notice of Determination .
. . . . . . .
8
Section
25.
Notice of Exemption . . .
. . . . . . .
8
Section
26.
Notice of Preparation . .
. . . . . . .
8
Section
27.
Person . . . . . .
8
Section
28.
Project . . . . . . .
. .
8
Section
29.
Responsible Agency . . . .
. . . . . . .
9
Section
30.
Significant Effect on the
Environment. .
9
Section
31.
District's Staff . . . .
. . . . . . .
10
e
r
C
Page
ARTICLE IV - LEAD AGENCY PRINCIPLES
Section
32.
Conclusive Determination . . . . . .
10
Section
33.
Staff Consideration of Lead Agency
10
Section
34.
Effect of Staff Determination. . .
11
Section
35.
Approval Process for Responsible
Agency Project . . . . . . . . . . .
12
Section
36.
Scope of District Environmental
Review as Responsible Agency . . . .
14
Section
37.
Shift in Lead Agency Responsibility .
14
Section
38.
Adequacy of an EIR or Negative Declar-
ation for Use by Responsible Agencies
15
Section
39.
Conditional Permits . . . . . . . . .
15
ARTICLE V - APPLICABILITY AND EXEMPTIONS
Section
40.
Ministerial Projects . . . . . . .
. 15
Section
41.
Emergency Projects. . . . . . . . .
. 16
Section
42.
Feasibility and Planning Studies .
. 16
Section
43.
Projects Which are Disapproved. .
. 16
Section
44.
Categorical Exemptions . . . . . .
. 17
ARTICLE VI - INITIAL STUDIES
Section
45.
Purposes of an Initial Study . . . .
.21,
Section
46.
Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
22
Section
47.
Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
22
Section
48.
Significant Environmental Effects and
Mitigation Pleasures . . . . .
23
Section
49.
Evaluating Environmental Significance
23
Section
50.
Mandatory Findings of Significance .
24
ARTICLE VII - NEGATIVE DECLARATIONS
Section
51.
General . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 24
Section
52.
Notice of Preparation . . . . . .
25
Section
53.
Contents . . . . . . . . . . . .
25
Section
54.
Filing and Posting . . . . . . . . .
26
Section
55.
Appeal Period and Project Determi-
nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
26
Section
56.
Notice of Determination . . . . . .
. 26
Section
57.
Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 27
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Page
ARTICLE VIII - ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORTS
Section
58.
Timing and Consultation . . . . . . .
27
Section
59.
Notice of Preparation . . . . . . . .
27
Section
60.
General Requirements of EIR's . . . .
30
Section
61.
Contents . . . . . . . . . . . .
.30
Section
62.
Preparation of Draft EIR; by Whom . .
34
Section
63.
Completion of Draft EIR . . . . . . .
35
Section
64.
Review of Draft EIR by Other Public
Agencies and Persons with Special
Expertise . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
36
Section
65.
Public Hearings . . . . . . . . . . .
37
Section
66.
Final EIR . . . . . . . . . . . . .
38
Section
67.
Adoption of Final EIR by Board; Board
Approval or Disapproval of Project .
.39
Section
68.
Notice of Determination . . . . . . .
40
Section
69.
Projects of Statewide Regional or
Areawide Significance . . . . . . . .
41
Section
70.
Retention of Comments . . . . . . . .
42
Section
71.
Subsequent EIR's . . . . . . . . . .
.43
Section
72.
Use of a Single EIR for More than
One Project . . . . . . . . . . . . .
44
Section
73.
General Plan EIR with Subsequent
Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . .
44
Section
74.
Multiple and Phased Projects. . . . •
45
Section
75.
Staged EIR . . . . . . . . . . . . •
. 45.
ARTICLE IX -
PARTIAL INVALIDITY . . . . . . . . . . .
45
EXHIBITS
00
EXHIBITS
EXHIBIT A - PRELIMINARY ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT.
EXHIBIT B - NOTICE OF EXEMPTION.
EXHIBIT C - NOTICE OF COMPLETION.
EXHIBIT D - NOTICE OF DETERMINATION.
EXHIBIT E - ENVIRONMENTAL CHECKLIST FORM.
1 •
4 r •
YORBA LINDA COUNTY WATER DISTRICT
LOCAL GUIDELINES IMPLEMENTING THE
CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT
(May 1978)
ARTICLE I - PURPOSES AND OBJECTIVES
Section 1. Purposes. This Resolution implements the pur-
poses and provisions of the California Environmental Quality
Act (hereinafter referred to as "CEQA") and the Guidelines
for Implementation of CEQA (hereinafter referred to as
"State Guidelines") which have been adopted by the Cali-
fornia Resources Agency. The enhancement and long-term pro-
tection of the environment and the encouragement of public
participation in achieving these goals are objectives of
this measure.
Section 2. Objectives. From time to time and under circum-
stances as outlined by this Resolution, an environmental
document must be prepared as a prerequisite to approval of a
project. The function of such a document is to provide in-
formation regarding the environmental effects of proposed
projects. The environmental effects set forth in such doc-
ument are to be evaluated before a project is approved. The
Board retains existing authority to balance environmental
objectives with economic, social, and other relevant objec-
tives of the proposed project.
The information in an EIR or other environmental document
constitutes evidence that the Board shall consider along
with any other information which may be presented.
ARTICLE II - ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATION PROCESS
Section 3. Review for Exemptions.
A. General Rule. The requirements set forth in these
Guidelines apply to projects which may have a significant
effect on the environment and which involve discretionary
governmental action. Where it can be seen with certainty
that there is no possibility that the activity in question
may have a significant effect on the environment, the ac-
tivity is not covered by the requirements set forth in CEQA.
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However, these Guidelines should be consulted to determine
the procedures necessary to verify that conclusion.
B. Preliminary Review. At the outset, a proposed ac-
tivity shall be examined by the District's staff for the
purpose of determining whether it is (1) not a project as
defined in Section 28; (2) ministerial as described in Sec-
tion 40 (3) an emergency project as described in Section 41;
(4) a feasibility and planning study as described in Section
42; (6) categorically exempt as described in Section 44;
or (7) involves another agency which constitutes the Lead
Agency primarily responsible for the carrying out of the
project as described in Article IV.
C. Staff Findin of No Exemption. If in the judgment
of the District's stat the proposed activity does not fall
within one of the foregoing categories, it shall proceed
with the project evaluation process as outlined in this
Article. Any person proposing to undertake a project as de-
fined in Sections 28A(2) or 28A(3) may present his objection
to the staff's determination to the Board at its next
regular or special meeting.
D. Staff Finding of Exemption. If in the judgment of
the District's staff, a proposed activity falls within one
of the categories enumerated in Subparagraph B, it shall so
determine and may record its findings on a form entitled
"Preliminary Environmental Assessment" (a copy of which is
attached hereto as Exhibit "A"). If exempted, no further
environmental assessment shall be necessary and the proposed
activity may be carried out in the manner routinely exer-
cised by the District. Failure of the District's staff to
prepare a Preliminary Environmental Assessment on a project
that is exempt shall not affect the District's right to
carry out the proposed activity. The Preliminary Environ-
mental Assessment shall be retained at the District's office
as part of its usual record-keeping process, and it shall be
made available for public inspection during all regular Dis-
trict office hours.
E. Notice of Exemption.
1. When the District staff determines that an
activity is exempt from the requirements of CEQA
because it is not a project, an emergency project, a
ministerial project, categorically exempt, or that
another agency is Lead Agency, and the District ap-
proves or determines to carry out the project, it may
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file a
notice of exemption. Such a notice
shall
include
(1)
a brief description of the project,
(2) a
finding
that
the project is exempt, including a
cita-
tion to
the
State and Local Guidelines section
under
which it
is
found to be exempt, and (3) a brief
state-
ment of
reasons to support the finding. (A form of
such not
ice
is attached hereto as Exhibit "B".)
2. Whenever the District approves an applicant's
project, it or the applicant may file a notice of ex-
emption. The notice of exemption filed by an appli-
cant shall contain the information required in Para-
graph 1 above, together with a certified document is-
sued by the District stating that it has found the
project to be exempt. This may be a certified copy of
an existing document or record of the District.
3. The notice of exemption shall be filed with
the County Clerk of the county or counties in which
the project will be located. Copies of all such
notices shall be available for public inspection.
Section 4. Initial Study.
A. Undertaking of Initial Stud; _,Ry Whom, Submis-
sion of Data; Costs. Upon a determination that a project is
discretionary and is not otherwise exempt, and that the Dis-
trict is the Lead Agency, the District staff shall, in
accordance with Article VI, conduct an Initial Study to
determine if the proposed project may have a significant
effect on the environment, unless the District can determine
that a project will clearly have a significant effect.
B. Consultation. As soon as the District staff has
determined that a project is not exempt and that an initial
study will be required to determine whether a Negative
Declaration or an EIR is required, the Lead Agency shall
consult with all Responsible Agencies as required by Section
45.
C. Determination. If District staff finds that
the
proposed project
will not have a
significant effect on
the
environment, it
shall prepare a
Negative Declaration
in
accordance with
the provisions of
Article VII. If, on
the
other hand, the
staff determine
s that it can be fai
rly
argued that the
project may have
a significant effect
on
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AM&
the environment
versy concerning
shall prepare an
Article VIII.
or that there is a serious public contro-
the environmental effect of a project, it
EIR in accordance with the provisions of
Section 5. Lead Agency Time Limits.
A. When the District is acting as a Lead Agency for
a project for which the District will grant a lease, li-
cense, permit, certificate, or other entitlement for use,
the District shall complete and certify an EIR in not more
than one year or complete and adopt a Negative Declaration
in not more than 105 days.
B. Within 45 days after accepting an application as
complete, a Lead Agency, for a project involving the is-
suance of a lease, permit, license, certificate, or other
entitlement for use, shall make an initial determination of
whether the project will need an EIR or Negative Declara-
tion.
C. The time limits under this section may be extended
for reasonable periods in the event that compelling circum-
stances justify additional time and the project applicant
consents to the extension.
D. The District may waive the one year time period or
the 105 day period if all the following conditions occur:
1. The project will require both an EIR or a
Negative Declaration under CEQA and an EIS or a Nega-
tive Declaration under the National Environmental
Policy Act;
2. Additional time will be required to prepare
a combined EIR-EIS, or a combined Negative Declaration
under both laws;
3. The time required to prepare such a combined
document would be less than the time required to pre-
pare such document separately; and
4. The applicant has requested or consented to
the waiver.
E. If the District waives the time periods as pro-
vided in the Subsection D, the District must approve or dis-
approve the project within 60 days after the combined docu-
ment under CEQA and NEPA has been completed.
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F. A Lead Agency shall convene a meeting with one or
more Responsible Agencies to discuss the scope and content
of a proposed EIR as soon as possible but not later than 30
days after the meeting is requested as provided in this Sec-
tion.
ARTICLE III - DEFINITIONS
Whenever the following terms are used in this Resolu-
tion, they shall have the following meaning unless otherwise
expressly defined:
Section 6. Approval means a decision by the District which
commits it to a definite course of action with regard to a
particular project. As respects any project to be under-
taken directly by the District, approval shall be deemed to
occur on the date the Board adopts a resolution making the
determination to proceed with a project, which in no event
shall be later than the date of adoption of plans and speci-
fications. As respects private projects defined in Sec-
tion 28A(2) and 28A(3), approval shall be deemed to occur
upon the earliest commitment to issue or the issuance by the
District of a discretionary contract, grant, subsidy, loan,
or other form of financial assistance, lease, permit,
license, certificate, or other entitlement for use of the
project. The mere acquisition of land by the District, on,
the other hand, shall not in and of itself be deemed to
constitute approval of a project. For purposes of this
Resolution, all environmental assessments must be completed
as of the time of project approval.
Section 7. Board means the Board of Directors of Distict.
Section 8. Categorical Exemption means an exemption from
the requirement of preparing a Negative Declaration or an
EIR even though the activity is a project which is discre-
tionary in nature. A categorical exemption is a class of
projects which have been determined not to have a signifi-
cant effect on the environment.
Section 9. Cumulative Impacts refers to two or more indi-
vidual effects which, when considered together, are con-
siderable or which compound or increase other environmental
impacts. The individual effects may be changes resulting
from a single project or a number of separate projects.
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Section 10. Discretionary Project means a project approval
of which requires the exercise of independent judgment, de-
liberation or decision-making on the part of the District.
Section 11. District means the YORBA LINDA COUNTY WATER
DISTRICT.
Section 12. Emergency means a sudden, unexpected occur-
rence, involving a clear and imminent danger, damanding im-
mediate action to prevent or mitigate loss of, or damage to,
life, health, property, or essential public services. Emer-
gency includes such occurrences as fire, flood, earthquake,
or other soil or geologic movements, as well as such occur-
rences as riot, accident, or sabotage.
Section 13. Environment means the physical conditions
which exist in the area which will be affected by a pro-
posed project including land, air, water, minerals, flora,
fauna, ambient noise, objects of historic or aesthetic sig-
nificance.
Section 14. Environmental Documents means Draft and Final
EIR's, Initial Studies, Negative Declarations, Notices of
Completion, Determinations, and Exemption.
Section 15. Environmental Impact Report (EIR) means a de-
tailed statement setting forth the environmental effects
and considerations pertaining to a project as specified in
Sections 21100 and 21100.1 of the California Environmental
Quality Act, and may mean either a draft or a final EIR.
A. Draft EIR means an EIR containing the information
specified in Article VIII of these Guidelines.
B. Final EIR means an EIR containing the information
contained in the Draft EIR, comments either verbatim or in
summary received in the review process, a list of persons
commenting, and the response of the Lead Agency to the
comments received. The final EIIZ is discussed in detail
in Section 66.
Section 16. EIS - Environmental Impact Statement means an
EIR prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA).
Section 17. State Guidelines means the Guidelines for im-
plementation of CEQA adopted by the California Resources
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Agency as they now exist or hereafter may be amended.
Section 18. Feasible means capable of being accomplished in
a successful manner within a reasonable period of time, tak-
ing into account economic, environmental, social, and tech-
nical factors.
Section 19. Initial Study means a preliminary analysis pre-
pared pursuant to Article VI to determine whether an EIR or
a Negative Declaration must be prepared.
Section 20. Jurisdiction by Law.
A. Jurisdiction by law means the authority of any
public agency:
use;
1. To grant a permit or other entitlement for
2. To provide funding for the project in ques-
tion; or
3. To exercise authority over resources which
may be affected by the project.
B. A city or county will have jurisdiction by law
with respect to a project when the city or county having.
primary jurisdiction over the area involved is the site of
the project, the area in which the major environmental ef-
fects will occur, and/or the area in which reside those
citizens most directly concerned by any such environmental
effects.
C. Where an agency having jurisdiction by law must
exercise discretionary authority over a project in order
for the project to proceed, it is also a Responsible Agency,
or the Lead Agency.
Section 21. Lead Agency means the public agency which has
the principal responsibility for preparing environmental
documents and for carrying out or approving a project which
may have a significant effect on the environment where more
than one public agency is involved in the same underlying
activity. The Lead Agency will prepare the environmental
documents for the project either directly or by contract.
See Article IV criteria to determine which agency is the
Lead Agency.
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Section 22. Negative Declaration means a written statement
prepared by the Lead Agency briefly describing the reasons
that a proposed project, although not categorically exempt,
will not have a significant effect on the environment and
therefore does not require the preparation of an EIR.
Section 23. Notice of Completion means a brief notice filed
with the Secretary of Resources as soon as a District has
completed a draft EIR and is prepared to send out copies
for review. (See Exhibit "C")
Section 24. Notice of Determination means a brief notice to
be filed by the District after it approves or determines to
carry out a project which is subject to the requirements of
CEQA. (See Exhibit "D")
Section 25. Notice of Exemption means a brief notice which
may be filed by the District when it has approved or deter-
mined to carry out an activity and it has determined that
it is not a project or is a ministerial, categorically
exempt or an emergency project. Such a notice may also be
filed by an applicant where such a determination has been
made by the District, which must approve the project. Th-e
contents of this notice are explained in Section 3. (See
Exhibit "D")
Section 26. Notice of Preparation means a brief notice sent
by a Lead Agency to notify the Responsible Agencies that the
Lead Agency plans to prepare an EIR for the project. The
purpose of the notice is to solicit guidance from the Re-
sponsible Agencies as to the scope and content of the en-
vironmental information to be included in the EIR.
Section 27. Person includes any person, firm, association,
organization, partnership, business, trust, corporation,
company, district, county, city and county, city, town, the
State, and any of the agencies and political subdivisions of
such entities.
Section 28. Project.
A. Project means the whole of an action which has a
potential for resulting in a physical change in the environ-
ment, directly or ultimately, that is any of the following:
1. An activity directly undertaken by the Dis-
trict;
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2. An activity undertaken by a person which is
supported in whole or in part through contracts,
grants, subsidies, loans, or other forms of assistance
from the District;
3. An activity involving the issuance by the
District to a person of a lease, permit, license, cer-
tificate, or other entitlement for use.
8. Project does not include:
1. Anything specifically exempted by State law;
2. Proposals for legislation to be enacted by
the State Legislature;
3. Continuing administrative or maintenance ac-
tivities such as purchases for supplies, personnel-
related actions, emergency repairs to public service
facilities, general policy and procedure making (ex-
cept as they are applied to specific instances covered
above), feasibility or planning studies;
4. The submittal of proposals to a vote of the
people of the State or of a particular community (in-
cluding the District).
C. The term "project" refers to the activity which is'
being approved and which may be subject to several discre-
tionary approvals by governmental agencies. The term "pro-
ject" does not mean each separate governmental approval.
Section 29. Responsible Agency means a public agency which
proposes to carry out or approve a project for which a Lead
Agency has prepared the environmental documents. For the
purposes of CEQA, the term "Responsible Agency" includes all
public agencies other than the Lead Agency which have dis-
cretionary approval power over the project or any part
thereof.
Section 30. Significant Effect on the Environment means a
substantial, or potentially substantial, adverse change in
any of the physical conditions within the area affected by
the activity including land, air, water, minerals, flora,
fauna, ambient noise, and objects of historic or aesthetic
significance.
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Section 31. District's Staff means the District's Manager,
and/or his designee, and Engineer of the District.
ARTICLE IV - LEAD AGENCY PRINCIPLES
Section 32. Conclusive Determination. The determination of
the Lead Agency of whether to prepare an Environmental Im-
pact Report or a Negative Declaration shall be final and
conclusive on all persons, including Responsible Agencies,
as provided by Section 21080.1 of the Public Resources
Code, unless:
A. The decision is challenged as provided in Section
21167 of the Public Resources Code; or
B. Circumstances change as provided in Section 71.
Section 33. Staff Consideration of Lead Agency. Upon a
determination that a proposed activity is discretionary in
nature and is not otherwise exempt, consideration shall be
given by staff to whether another public agency is primarily
responsible for carrying it out or approving it. Staff
shall consider, among others, the following principles in
determining the Lead Agency:
A. Where a project is to be carried out or approved
by more than one public agency, only one public agency shall
be responsible for preparation of environmental documents,
and it will be the Lead Agency. Such environmental docu-
ments will be prepared by the Lead Agency in consultation
with all Responsible Agencies. The Lead Agency's environ-
mental documents shall be the environmental documentation
for all Responsible Agencies. Except as provided in Sec-
tion 75 of these Guidelines, such Responsible Agencies
shall consider the Lead Agency's EIR or Negative Declara-
tion prior to acting upon or approving the projects, and
they shall certify that their decision-making bodies have
reviewed and considered the information contained in them.
B. If the project is to be carried out by a public
agency, the Lead Agency shall be the public agency which
proposes to carry out the project.
C. If the project is to be carried out by a non-
governmental person, the Lead Agency shall be the public
agency with the greatest responsibility for supervising or
approving the project as a whole.
i i
1. The Lead Agency will generally be the agency
with general governmental powers rather than an agency
with a single or limited purpose which is involved by
reason of the need to provide a public service or pub-
lic utility to the project; in some cases, the single
or limited purpose agency will, upon request, provide
data concerning all aspects of its activities required
to furnish service to the project to the agency draft-
ing the EIR, and no separate EIR will be required in
regard to such activities.
2.
Where a city has prezoned an area, the city
will be
the appropriate Lead
Agency for
any subse-
quent annexation of the area
and should
prepare the
required
environmental document
at the time
of the pre-
zoning.
The city shall consul
t with the
local agency
formation
commission, and the
EIR shall
include the
comments
of the local agency
formation
commission.
D. Where more than one public agency equally meets
the criteria set forth in Subparagraph C above, the agency
which is to act f irst on the project in question shall be
the Lead Agency (following the principle that the environ-
mental impact should be assessed as early as possible in
governmental planning).
E. Where the provisions of Subparagraphs B, C, and
D leave two or more public agencies with a substantial claim
to be the Lead Agency, the public agencies may by agreement
designate which agency will be the Lead Agency. An agree-
ment may also provide for cooperative efforts by contract,
joint exercise of powers, or similar devices.
Section 34. Effect of Staff Determination.
A. Staff Findinq that District is Aqency with Primary
Responsibility. If, in the judgment of the District's
staff, the project does not involve another public agency
which is the Lead Agency, it shall proceed with the project
evaluation process as outlined in Article II. Any person
proposing to undertake a project as defined in Sections
28A(2) or (3), (i.e., a private project) may present
his objections to the staff's determination to the Board
at its next regular or special meeting.
B. Staff Finding that Another Public Agency is Lead
Agency. If, in the judgment of the District's staff, the
project does involve another public agency which is the Lead
Agency, it shall so find and shall designate the Lead Agency
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Alk
0
on the Preliminary Environmental Assessment. (See Section
3). Unless otherwise required by the Board, no further
environmental assessment shall be necessary.
Section 35. Approval Process for Responsible Agency Project.
A. General. A Responsible Agency complies with CEQA
by considering documents prepared by the Lead Agency and by
reaching its own conclusions on whether and how to approve
the project involved. This section identifies the special
duties the District will have when acting as a Responsible
Agency.
B. Response to Consultation." A Responsible Agency
shall respond to consultation by the Lead Agency in order to
assist the Lead Agency in preparing adequate environmental
documents for the project. By this means, the Responsible
Agency will ensure that the documents it will use will com-
ply with CEQA.
1. In response to consultation, a Responsible
Agency shall explain its reasons for recommending whe-
ther the Lead Agency should prepare an EIR or Negative
Declaration for a project. Where the Responsible
Agency disagrees with the Lead Agency's proposal to
prepare a Negative Declaration for a project, the Re-
sponsible Agency should identify the significant en-
vironmental effects which it believes could result from
the project and recommend either that an EIR be pre-
pared or that the project be modified to eliminate the
significant effects.
2. As soon as possible, but not longer than 45
days after receiving a Notice of Preparation from the
Lead Agency, the Responsible Agency shall send a writ-
ten reply by certified mail. The reply shall specify
the scope and content of the environmental information
which would be germane to the Responsible Agency's
statutory responsibilities in connection with the pro-
posed project. The Lead Agency shall include this in-
formation in the EIR.
C. Meetings. The Responsible Agency shall designate
employees or representatives to attend meetings requested
by the Lead Agency to discuss the scope and content of the
EIR.
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D. Comments on Draft EIR's and Neqative Declarations.
A Responsible Agency should review and comment on draft
EIR's and Negative Declarations for projects which the Re-
sponsible Agency would later be asked to approve. Comments
should focus on any shortcomings in the EIR, the appropri-
ateness of using a Negative Declaration, or on additional
alternatives or mitigation measures which the EIR should
include. The comments may deal with any aspect of the pro-
ject or its environmental effects.
E. Decision on Adeauacv of EIR or Neqative Declara-
tion. If a Responsible Agency believes that the final EIR
or Negative Declaration prepared by the Lead Agency is not
adequate for use by the Responsible Agency, the Responsible
Agency must either:
1. Take the issue to court within 30 days after
the Lead Agency files a Notice of Determination;
2. Be deemed to have waived any objection to the
adequacy of the EIR of Negative Declaration; or
3. Prepare a subsequent EIR if permissible under
Section 15067 of the State Guidelines.
F. Consider the EIR or Neqative Declaration. Prior
to reaching a' decision on the project, the Responsible
Agency must consider the environmental effects of the pro-
ject as shown in the EIR or Negative Declaration. A new or
supplemental EIR can be prepared only as provided in Sec-
tion 15067 of the State Guidelines.
G. Adoption of Alternatives or Mitigation Measures.
When an EIR has been prepared for a project, the Responsible
Agency shall not approve the project as proposed if it finds
any feasible alternative or feasible mitigation measure
within its powers that would substantially lessen any sig-
nificant effect the project would have on the environment.
When considering alternatives and mitigation measures, a
Responsible Agency is more limited than a Lead Agency. In
deciding whether to carry out, finance, or approve a pro-
ject, a Responsible Agency has responsibility for mitigating
or avoiding only the environmental effects of those activi-
ties which are within the scope of its statutory authori-
ties.
H. Notice of Determination. The Responsible Agency
should file a Notice of Determination in the same manner as
a Lead Agency.
_13-
Section 36. Scope of District Environmental Review as Re-
sponsible Aqency. In applying the duty to mitigate or avoid
significant effects on the environment whenever it is feas-
ible to do so, the scope of concern of the District when
functioning as a Lead Agency shall differ from that of the
District when functioning as a Responsible Agency. The
District functioning as a Lead Agency shall consider the
significant effects, both individual and cumulative, of all
activities involved in the project. The District function-
ing as a Responsible Agency shall have responsibility for
considering only the significant effects of those activities
which it is required by law to carry out or approve that
are involved in a project for which a Lead Agency has pre-
pared an EIR.
Section 37. Shift in Lead Aqency Responsibility.
A. Where the District is called on to grant an appro-
val for a project subject to CEQA for which another public
agency was the appropriate Lead Agency, the District shall
begin to act as the Lead Agency when any of the following
conditions occur:
1. The Lead Agency did not prepare any environ-
mental documents for the project, and the statute of
limitations has expired for a challenge to the action
of the appropriate Lead Agency.
2. The Lead Agency prepared environmental doc-
uments for the project, but the following conditions
occur:
a. A subsequent EIR is required pursuant to
Section 15067 of the State Guidelines;
b. The Lead Agency has granted a final ap-
proval for the project; and
c. The statute of limitations for challeng-
ing the Lead Agency's action under CEQA has ex-
pired.
3. The Lead Agency prepared inadequate environ-
mental documents without consulting with the District
and the statute of limitations has expired for a chal-
lenge to the action of the appropriate Lead Agency.
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B. When a District assumes the duties of a Lead
Agency under this section, the time limits applicable to a
Lead Agency shall apply to the action of the District.
Section 38. Adequacy of an EIR or Neqative Declaration for
use by Responsible Agencies. A final EIR prepared by a Lead
Agency or a Negative Declaration adopted by a Lead Agency
shall be conclusively presumed to comply with CEQA for pur-
poses of use by District as Responsible Agency which were
consulted pursuant to Section 15066 unless one of the fol-
lowing conditions occurs:
A. A legal action or proceeding is filed challenging
the EIR within the period provided in Section 21167(c); or
B. A subsequent EIR is made necessary by Section
15067 of the State Guidelines.
Section 39. Conditional Permits.
A. If a lawsuit is filed challenging an EIR or Nega-
tive Declaration for noncompliance with CEQA as a Respon-
sible Agency, District shall act as if the EIR or Negative
Declaration complies with CEQA and continue to process the
application for the project according to the time limits
for Responsible Agency action contained in Government Code
Section 65952. In this situation, the District shall have
authority only to grant a conditional approval or disap-
proval of the project. A conditional approval shall consti-
tute permission to proceed with a project only when the
court action results in a final determination that the EIR
or Negative Declaration does comply with the provisions of
CEQA.
B. This section shall not require the District to
process an application for a project where it has filed a
lawsuit challenging the legal adequacy of the environmental
documents prepared by or for the Lead Agency.
ARTICLE V - APPLICABILITY AND EXEMPTIONS
Section 40. Ministerial Projects.
A. Ministerial projects are exempt from the require-
ments of CEQA and these Guidelines and consequently no en-
vironmental documents are required therefor. Ministerial
projects contrast with discretionary projects as defined in
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i i
Section 10 hereof. Generally speaking, a ministerial pro-
ject is one requiring approval by the District as a matter
of law or the use of fixed standards or objective measure-
ments without personal judgment. Examples of such projects
include, but are not limited to, individual utility service
connections and disconnections, agreements to install in-
tract utility facilities to subdivisions, development of
which has been approved by other appropriate governmental
agencies, and utility service connections and disconnec-
tions to potential customers within such subdivision.
B. The decision as to whether or not a proposed pro-
ject is ministerial in nature, and thus outside the scope of
this enactment, shall be made by the District on a case-by-
case basis or as part of these Guidelines as hereinafter set
forth.
Section 41. Emergency Projects. The following emergency
projects do not require the preparation of a Negative Dec-
laration or an EIR and, thus, are outside the scope of this
Resolution:
A. Projects undertaken, carried out, or approved by
the District to maintain, repair, restore, demolish or re-
place property or facilities damaged or destroyed as a re-
sult of a disaster in a disaster-striken area in which a
state of emergency has been proclaimed by the Governor pur-
suant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Divi-
sion 1, Title 2 of the Government Code.
B. Emergency repairs to any of the District's facili-
ties necessary to maintain service.
C. Specific actions necessary to prevent or mitigate
an emergency.
Section 42. Feasibility and Planning Studies of potential
projects undertaken by the District are specifically ex-
cepted from the requirements of CEQA and thus are outside
the scope of this Resolution, although such studies may con-
tain considerations of environmental facts incident to the
potential project.
Section 43. Projects Which Are Disapproved.
A. CEQA does not apply to projects which the District
rejects or disapproves. (P.R.C. Section 21080(b)(5)).
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Adh~
B. This section is intended to allow an initial
screening of projects on the merits for quick disapprovals
prior to the initiation of the CEQA process where the agency
can determine that the project cannot be approved.
C. This section shall not relieve an applicant from
paying the costs for an EIR or Negative Declaration pre-
pared for his project prior to the Lead Agency's disapproval
of the project.
Section 44. Categorical Exemptions. The following classes
of projects, in accordance with and pursuant to Article 8 of
the State Guidelines, have been determined not to have a
significant effect on the environment, and therefore are de-
clared to be categorically exempt from the requirement of
preparing any environmental document. The categorical ex-
emptions listed herein are not intended to be, and are not
to be construed to be, a limitation on the categorical ex-
emptions set forth in Article 8 of the State Guidelines, but
are subject to the provisions of Section 15100.2 of State
Guidelines.
A. Class I: Existing Facilities. Class I consists
of the operation, repair, maintenance or minor alteration
of all existing District facilities, structures, equipment
or other property of every kind which activity involves
negligible or no expansion or use beyond that previously
existing, including but not limited to:
1. Water conveyance facilities;
2. Water connection facilities, including meter
boxes;
3. Fire hydrants;
4. Storage reservoirs;
5. Pump stations;
6. Buildings;
7. Treatment plants; and
8. Recreational facilities.
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I I
B. Class II: Replacement or Reconstruction. Class
II consists of replacement or reconstruction of any Dis-
trict facilities, structures or other property where the
new facility or structure will be located on the same site
as the replaced or reconstructed facility or structure, in-
cluding but not limited to:
1. Water conveyance facilities;
2. Water connection facilities, including meter
boxes;
3. Fire hydrants;
4. Storage reservoirs;
5. Pump stations;
6. Buildings;
7. Treatment plants; and
8. Recreational facilities.
C. Class III: New Construction of Small Structures.
Class III consists of construction of new facilities or
structures and installation of new equipment or facilities,
including, but not limited to those necessary to serve:
1. Single-family residences not in conjunction
with the building of two or more such units;
2. Motels, apartments, and duplexes designed for
not more than four dwelling units if not in conjunction
with the building of two or more such structures;
3. Stores, offices, and restaurants if designed
for an occupant load of 20 persons or less, if not in
conjunction with the building of two or more such
structures.
D. Class IV: Minor Alterations to Land. Class IV
consists of minor alterations in the condition of land,
water, and/or vegetation, including but not limited to:
1. Small water diversion facilities;
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s
2. Grading on land with a slope of less than ten
percent except where it is to be located in a waterway,
in any wetland, in an officially designated (by fed-
eral, state or local governmental action) scenic area,
or in officially mapped areas of severe geologic
hazard;
3. New gardening or landscaping but not includ-
ing tree removal;
4. Filling of earth into previously excavated
land with material compatible with the natural fea-
tures of the site;
5. Minor alterations in land, water and vege-
tation on existing officially designated wildlife man-
agement areas of fish production facilities which re-
sult in improvement of habitat for fish and wildlife
resources or greater fish production;
6. Minor temporary uses of land having neg-
ligible or no permanent effects on the environment;
7. Maintenance dredging where the spoil is de-
posited in a spoil area authorized by all applicable
state and federal regulatory agencies.
E. Class V: Information Collection. Class V con-
sists of basic data collection, research, experimental man-
agement and resources evaluation activities which do not re-
sult in a serious or major disturbance to an environmental
resource. These activities may be undertaken strictly for
information-gathering purposes or as part of a study lead-
ing toward the undertaking of a project.
F. Class VI: Inspection. Class VI consists of in-
spection activities, including but not limited to inquiries
into the performance of an operation and examinations of the
quality, health or safety of a project.
G. Class VII: Accessory Structures. Class VII con-
sists of the construction or placement of minor structures
accessory to or appurtenant to existing commercial, indus-
trial or institutional facilities, including small parking
lots.
H. Class VIII: Surplus Government Property Sales.
Class VIII consists of sales of surplus government property
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except for parcels of land located in an area of statewide
interest or potential area of critical concern as identi-
fied in the Governor's Environmental Goals and Policy Re-
port prepared pursuant to Government Code Sections 65041
et seg. However, if the surplus property to be sold is lo-
cated in those areas identified in the Governor's Environ-
mental Goals and Policy Report, its sale is exempt if:
1. The property does not have significant values
for wildlife habitat or other environmental purposes;
and
2. Any of the following conditions exist:
a. The property is of such size or shape
that it is incapable of independent development or
use; or
b. The property to be sold would qualify
for an exemption under any other class of cate-
gorical exemption in Article VII of these Guide-
lines; or
c. The use of the property and adjacent
property has not changed since the time of pur-
chase by the District.
I. Class IX: Annexations of Existinq Facilities and
Lots for Exempt Facilities. Class IX consists of only the
following annexations:
1. Annexations to the District of areas contain-
ing existing public or private structures developed to
the density allowed by the current zoning or pre-zoning
of either the gaining or losing governmental agency,
whichever is more restrictive, provided, however, that
the extension of utility services to the existing
facilities would have a capacity to serve only the
existing facilities.
2. Annexations of individual small parcels of
the minimum size for facilities exempted by Class III,
New Construction of Small Structures.
J. Class X: Changes in Organization of the District.
Class X consists of changes in the organization or reorgan-
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i i
ization of the District where the changes do not change the
geographical area in which previously existing powers are
exercised. Examples include but are not limited to:
1. Establishment of a subsidiary district;
ties.
1. Consolidation of two or more districts having
identical powers;
3. Merger with a city or a district lying en-
tirely within the boundaries of the city.
K. Class XI. Enforcement Actions by Regulatory Aqen-
1. Class XI consists of actions by regulatory
agencies to enforce or revoke a lease, permit, license,
certificate, or other entitlement for use issued,
adopted or prescribed by the regulatory agency or law,
general rule, standard, or objective, administered or
adopted by the regulatory agency. Such actions in-
clude, but are not limited to, the following:
a. The direct referral of a violation of
lease, permit, license, certificate, or entitle-
ment for use or of a general rule, standard, or
objective to the Attorney General, District
Attorney, or City Attorney as appropriate, for
judicial enforcement.
b. The adoption of an administrative de-
cision or order enforcing or revoking the lease,
permit, license, certificate, or entitlement for
use or enforcing the general rule, standard, or
objective.
2. Construction activities undertaken by the
enforcement or revocation action are not included in this
exemption.
ARTICLE VI - INITIAL STUDIES
Section 45. Purposes of an Initial Study are to: (1) iden-
tify environmental impacts; (2) enable an applicant or Lead
Agency to modify a project, mitigating adverse impacts be-
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AGk
fore an EIR is written; (3) focus an EIR, if one is re-
quired, on potentially significant environmental effects;
(4) facilitate environmental assessment early in the design
of a project; (5) provide documentation of a factual basis
for the finding in a Negative Declaration that a project
will not have a significant effect on the environment; and
(6) eliminate unnecessary EIR's.
Prior to determining whether a Negative Declaration or
Environmental Impact Report is required for a project, the
Lead Agency shall consult with all Responsible Agencies.
This first step of consultation may be done quickly and in-
formally.
Section 46. Contents. An Initial Study shall contain the
following: (1) a description of the project; ( 2 ) an iden-
tification of the environmental setting; (3) an identifica-
tion of environmental effects by use of a checklist, matrix,
or other method; (4) a discussion of ways to mitigate the
significant effects identified, if any; (5) an examination
of whether the project is compatible with existing zoning
and plans; and (6) the name of the person or persons who
prepared or participated in the Initial Study. An Environ-
mental Checklist Form (see Exhibit "E") may be utilized to
assist in preparation of the Initial Study.
Section 47. Costs.
A. As to projects defined in Article III, Section
2BA(1), supra, of this Resolution, the Initial Study shall
be undertaken by the District's staff or by private experts
pursuant to contract with the District.
B. As to projects defined in Article III, Sections
28A(2) and 28A(3), supra, the person or entity proposing to
carry out the project shall submit all data and information
as may be required by the District to prepare the Initial
Study. Such data and information shall consider all fac-
tors enumerated in Paragraph B, infra. All costs incurred
by the District in reviewing the data and information sub-
mitted by said person or entity, or in conducting its own
investigation based upon such data and information for the
purpose of determining whether the proposed project might
have a significant effect on the environment shall be
borne by the person or entity proposing to carry out the
project. The District may also require such person or
entity to specify to the best of his knowledge which other
public agencies will have jurisdiction by law over the
project.
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Ad. .wr
Section 48. Significant Environmental Effects and Mitiga-
tion Measures.
A. If any aspects of the project, either individually
or cumulatively, may cause a significant effect on the en-
vironment, regardless of whether the overall effect of the
project is adverse or beneficial, then an EIR must be pre-
pared. All phases of project planning, implementation, and
operation must be considered in the Initial Study of the
project. To meet the requirements of this section, the Lead
Agency may use an Initial Study prepared pursuant to the
National Environmental Policy Act.
B. Where a project is revised in response to an Ini-
tial Study so that potential adverse effects are mitigated
to a point where no significant environmental effects would
occur, a Negative Declaration shall be prepared instead of
an EIR. If the project would still result in one or more
significant effects on the environment after mitigation mea-
sures are added to the project, an EIR shall be prepared.
Section 49. Evaluating Environmental Significance. In de-
termining whether a project may have a significant effect
on the environment, the District shall consider both primary
and secondary consequences. A project will normally have a
significant effect on the environment if it will: (1) con-
flict with adopted environmental plans and goals of the
community where it is located; (2) have a substantial,
demonstrable negative aesthetic affect; (3) substantially
affect a rare or endangered species of animal or plant or
the habitat of the species; (4) interfere substantially with
the movement of any resident or migratory fish or wildlife
species; (5) breach published national, state, or local
standards relating to solid waste or litter control; (6)
substantially degrade water quality; (7) contaminate a pub-
lic water supply; (8) substantially degrade or deplete
groundwater resources; (9) interfere substantially with
groundwater recharge; (10) disrupt or alter an archaeolog-
ical site over 200 years old, an historic site or a paleon-
tological site except as part of a scientific study of the
site; (11) induce substantial growth or concentration of
population; (12) cause an increase in traffic which is sub-
stantial in relation to the existing traffic load and capa-
city of the street system; (13) displace a large number of
people; (14) encourage activities which result in the use
of large amounts of water, or energy; (15) use fuel, water,
or energy in a wasteful manner; (16) increase substantially
the ambient noise levels for adjoining areas; (17) cause
substantial flooding, erosion, or siltation; (18) expose
-23-
people or structures to major geologic hazards; (19) ex-
tend a sewer trunk line with capacity to serve new develop-
ment; (20) substantially diminish habitat for fish, wild-
life or plants; (21) disrupt or divide the physical ar-
rangement of an established community; (22) create a pub-
lic health hazard or a potential public health hazard;
(23) conflict with established recreational, educational,
religious or scientific uses of the area; (24) violate any
ambient air quality standard, contribute substantially to
any existing or projected air quality violation, or expose
sensitive receptors to substantial pollutant concentrations.
Section 50. Mandatory Findings of Significance. A project
shall be found to have a significant effect on the environ-
ment if:
A. The project has the potential to degrade the qual-
ity of the environment, substantially reduce the habitat of
a fish or wildlife species, cause a fish or wildlife popu-
lation to drop below self-sustaining levels, threaten to
eliminate a plant or animal community, reduce the number or
restrict the range of a rare or endangered plant or animal
or eliminate important examples of the major periods of
California history or prehistory;
B. The project has the potential to achieve short-
term environmental goals to the disadvantage of long-term
environmental goals;
C. The project has possible environmental effects
which are individually limited but cumulatively consider-
able. As used in the subsection, "cumulatively consider-
able" means that the incremental effects of an individual
project are considerable when viewed in connection with the
effects of past projects, the effects of other current pro-
jects, and the effects of probable future projects;
D. The environmental effects of a project will cause
substantial adverse effects on human beings, either directly
or indirectly.
ARTICLE VII - NEGATIVE DECLARATIONS
Section 51. General. Following the Initial Study as de-
scribed in Article VI, a Negative Declaration shall be pre-
pared for all discretionary projects not otherwise exempt
upon a finding by the District staff that the project will
not have a significant effect on the environment. Before
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s s
completion of a Negative Declaration, the District shall
consult with all Responsible Agencies. This consultation
may take place during the public review period required by
Subsection D of this section. The required contents of a
Negative Declaration and the procedures to be followed in
connection with the preparation thereof are described in
this article.
Section 52. Notice of Preparation of a Negative Declaration
shall be provided to the public within a reasonable time
prior to final adoption by the District of the Negative Dec-
laration. Notice shall be given to all organizations and
individuals who have previously requested such notice and
shall also be given by at least one of the following pro-
cedures:
A. Publication, no fewer times than required by Sec-
tion 6061 of the Government Code, by the District in a news-
paper of general circulation in the area affected by the
proposed project;
B. Posting of notice by the District on and off-site
in the area where the project is to be located;
C. Direct mailing to owners of property contiguous to
the project.
The alternatives for providing notice specified above
shall not preclude the District from providing additional
notice by other means if the District so desires, nor shall
the requirements of this section preclude the District from
providing the public notice required herein at the same time
and in the same manner as public notice otherwise required
by law for such project.
Section 53. Contents. A Negative Declaration shall contain
the following information:
A. A brief description of the project; including a
commonly used name for the project, if any;
B. The location of the project and the name of the
project proponent;
C. A finding that the project will not have a signif-
icant effect on the environment;
D. An attached copy of the Initial Study documenting
reasons to support the finding;
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f •
RESOLUTION NO. 78-37
RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF
YORBA LINDA COUNTY WATER DISTRICT
REPEALING RESOLUTION NO. 77-2 AND ADOPT-
ING NEW OBJECTIVES, CRITERIA AND
PROCEDURES IMPLEMENTING THE CALIFORNIA
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT
The Board of Directors of Yorba Linda County Water District hereby
resolves as follows:
Resolution No. 77-2, entitled "Resolution of the Board of Directors
of Yorba Linda County Water District Adopting Objectives, Criteria
and Procedures Implementing the California Environmental Quality
Act", adopted by this Board on the 27th day of January, 1977, hereby
is repealed in its entirety.
The Local Guidelines Implementing the California Environmental
Quality Act as presented on May 25, 1978 to the Board of Directors
is hereby approved and adopted by the Yorba Linda County Water District.
Adopted this 30th day of May, 1978 by the following called vote:
Ayes: Directors Knauft, Lindow, Korn, Clodt, Cromwell
Noes: None
Absent: None
Abstain: None
M. Roy Kn uft, Jr., residQnt
ATTEST:
it.Secretary
i
I .
E. Mitigation measures, if any, included in the pro-
ject to avoid potentially significant effects.
Section 54. Filinq and Postin~
A. Filing. Upon completion of a Negative Declara-
tion, it shall be filed with the County Clerk.
B. Posting. Simultaneously with the filing of a Neg-
ative Declaration with the County Clerk, the staff shall
cause to be posted at three public places in the District
copies of the Negative Declaration.
Section 55. Appeal Period and Project Determination.
A. Any interested person may appeal the decision of
the staff to file a Negative Declaration by filing notice of
such appeal with the Board within five days after the filing
of the Negative Declaration. The Board shall hear and con-
sider the matter and its decision with respect thereto shall
be final.
B. At any time after the fifth day following the fil=ing of a Negative Declaration, or, in the event the same
shall have been appealed, then any time after a Board de-
cision sustaining the filing of a Negative Declaration, the
project may be approved or disapproved in accordance with
the usual District procedures. Members of the public may
appear before the Board and present their views prior to the
Board's determination to approve or disapprove the project.
Section 56. Notice of Determination.
A. Filing. Following approval or disapproval of the
project, the District shall cause to be prepared a Notice of
Determination on a form attached hereto as Exhibit "D" which
shall contain the following:
1. The decision of the District to approve the
project;
2. The determination of the District as to whe-
ther the project will have a significant effect on the.
environment;
3. A statement of whether an EIR has been pre-
pared pursuant to CEQA; and
4. The address where a copy of the Negative Dec-
laration may be examined.
AWk
Said notice then shall be filed with the County Clerk of the
county or counties in which the project is located. If the
project requires discretionary approval from a state agency,
the Notice of Determination also shall be filed with the
Secretary for Resources.
B. Posting. Simultaneously with the filing of the
Notice of Determination, the District shall cause to be
posted at the District's office a copy of the Notice of De-
termination.
Section 57. Costs. As to projects covered by Article III,
Sections 28A(2) and (3), the person or entity propos-
ing to carry out the project requiring approval by the
District shall bear all costs incurred by the District in
preparing and filing the Negative Declaration.
ARTICLE VIII - ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORTS
Section 58. Timing and Consultation. Following the Initial
Study as described in Article VII, but within the time set
forth in Section 5, an EIR shall be prepared for all discre-
tionary projects not otherwise exempt upon a finding by the
staff that the project may have a significant effect on the
environment or that there is serious public controversy con-•
cerning the environmental effect of a project. Before com-
pletion of a Draft EIR, the District shall consult with all
Responsible Agencies. This consultation may take place dur-
ing the public review period required by this article. The
required contents of an EIR and the procedures to be fol-
lowed in connection with the preparation thereof are de-
scribed herein.
Section 59. Notice of Preparation. Immediately after de-
ciding that an EIR is required for a project, the District
staff shall send to each Responsible Agency by certified
mail a Notice of Preparation stating that an EIR will be
prepared. The notice shall also be sent to every federal
agency involved in approving or funding the project.
A. The Notice of Preparation shall provide the Re-
sponsible Agencies with sufficient information describing
the project and the environmental effects to enable the
Responsible Agencies to make a meaningful response. At a
minimum, the information should include:
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Aft
1. Description of the project;
2. Location of the project; and
3. Probable environmental effects of the pro-
ject.
B. The District may begin work on the Draft EIR im-
mediately without awaiting responses to the Notice of Prepa-
ration. The Draft EIR in preparation may need to be re-
vised or expanded to conform to responses to the Notice of
Preparation.
C. In order to expedite consultation with Responsible
Agencies, a project applicant may request one or more meet-
ings between representatives of the agencies involved to
assist the District in determing the scope and content of
the environmental information which the District may re-
quire. Such meetings shall be convened by the District as
soon as possible, but no later than 30 days, after the meet-
ings were requested.
D. The information contained in an EIR shall include
summarized technical data, maps, plot plans, diagrams and
similar relevant information sufficient to permit full as-
sessment of significant environmental impacts by reviewing
agencies and members of the public. Placement of highly
technical and specialized analysis and data in the body of
an EIR should be avoided through inclusion of supporting
information and analyses as appendices to the main body of
the EIR. Appendices to the EIR may be prepared in volumes
separate from the basic EIR document, but shall be avail-
able for public examination and shall be submitted to
all clearinghouses which assist in public review.
E. The EIR should be prepared using a systematic,
interdisciplinary approach. The interdisciplinary analy-
sis shall be conducted by competent individuals, but no
single discipline shall be designated or required to under-
take this evaluation. Preparation of EIR's is dependent up-
on information from many sources, including the engineering
project report and many scientific documents relating to
environmental features. The EIR shall reference all docu-
ments used in its preparation including where possible, a
citation to the page and section number of any technical re-
ports which were used as the basis for any statements in the
EIR.
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.r
F. The EIR should discuss environmental effects in
proportion to their severity and probability of occurrence.
Effects dismissed in an Initial Study as clearly insignifi-
cant and unlikely to occur need not be discussed further in
the EIR unless the Lead Agency subsequently receives infor-
mation inconsistent with the finding in the Initial Study.
A copy of the Initial Study shall be attached to the EIR to
provide the basis for limiting the impacts discussed.
G. An EIR shall contain a statement briefly indicat-
ing the reasons for determining that various effects of a
project that could possibly be considered significant were
not found to be significant and consequently were not dis-
cussed in detail in the EIR.
H. Drafting an EIR necessarily involves some degree
of forecasting. While foreseeing the unforeseeable is not
possible, an agency must use its best efforts to find out
and disclose all that it reasonably can.
I. If, after thorough
finds that a particular impact
uation, the agency should note
discussion of the impact.
investigation, a Lead Agency
is too speculative for eval-
its conclusion and terminate
J. When an EIR is required by CEQA and a federal EIS
has been or will be prepared for the same project, all or
any part of the EIS may be used as all or any part of the
EIR; provided, however, that the EIS or part used shall
comply with these Guidelines.
In cases where a federal EIS is used, discussion of
mitigation measures, growth-inducing impact, and energy con-
servation will have to be added or supplemented if the EIS
does not include an adequate discussion of these elements.
K. When a project requires both an EIR and an EIS,
the District shall whenever possible, use the EIS as the
EIR.
L. If the District finds that an EIS for a project
would not be prepared by the Federal Agency by the time when
the Lead Agency will need to consider an EIR, the District
should try to prepare a combined EIR-EIS. To avoid the
need for the Federal Agency to prepare a separate document
for the same project, the District must involve the Federal
Agency in the preparation of the EIR-EIS. This involve-
rnent is necessary because federal law generally prohibits
a Federal Agency from using an EIR prepared by a state or
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local agency unless the Federal Agency was involved in the
preparation of the document.
M. When it plans to use an EIS or prepare a joint
EIR-EIS, the District shall consult as soon as possible with
the agency that would prepare the EIS.
N. Where a project will be subject to both CEQA and
the National Environmental Policy Act, the one year time
limit and the 105 day time limit may be waived pursuant to
Section 15054.2 of the State Guidelines.
0. Where the Federal Agency circulated the EIS for
public review as broadly as state or local law may require
and gave notice meeting the standards in Section 15085(d),
the District under CEQA need not recirculate the EIS for
public review. One review and comment period is enough.
The District shall give notice that it will use the EIS in
the place of an EIR and that it believes that the EIS meets
the requirements of CEQA.
Section 60. General Requirements of EIR's.
A. Environmental Impact Reports shall contain th-e
information outlined herein. Each element must be covered,
and when these elements are not separated into distinct sec-
tions, the document shall state where in the document each
element is discussed.
B. Each report shall contain a brief summary of the
proposed action and its consequences in language suffi-
ciently simple that the issues can be understood by the
average member of the lay public. The EIR shall also con-
tain a table of contents or an index.
Section 61. Contents.
A. The description of the project shall contain the
following information but should not supply extensive detail
beyond that needed for evaluation and review of the environ-
ment impact.
1. The precise location and boundaries of the
proposed project shall be shown on a detailed map,
preferably topographic. The location of the project
shall also appear on a regional map.
2. A statement of the objectives sought by the
proposed project.
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3. A general description of the project's tech-
nical, economic, and environmental characteristics,
considering the principal engineering proposals.
B. Orqanizations and Persons Consulted. The identity
of all federal, state or local agencies, other organizations
and private individuals consulted in preparing the EIR, and
the identity of the persons, firm or agency preparing the
EIR, by contract or other authorization must be given.
C. Description of Environmental Setting. An EIR must
include a description of the environment in the vicinity of
the project, as it exists before commencement of the pro-
ject, from both a local and regional perspective, including
but not limited to water quality aspects of the proposed
project which have been previously certified by the appro-
priate state or interstate organizations as being in sub-
stantial compliance with applicable water quality standards.
Knowledge of the regional setting is critical to the assess-
ment of environmental impacts. Special emphasis should be
placed on environmental resources that are rare or unique
to the region. Specific reference to related projects, both
public and private, both existent and planned, in the re-
gion should also be included, for purposes of examining the
possible cumulative impact of such projects.
D. Environmental Impact. All phases of a project
must be considered when evaluating its impact on the en-
vironment: planning, acquisition, development and opera-
tion. The following subjects shall be discussed separately,
the EIR shall include a table showing where each of the sub-
jects is discussed.
1. The Significant Environmental Effects of the
Proposed Proect. Describe the direct and indirect
significant effects of the project on the environment,
giving due consideration to both the short-term and
long-term effects. It should include relevant speci-
fics of the area, the resources involved, physical
changes, alterations to ecological systems and changes
induced in population distribution, population concen-
tration, the human use of the land (including commer-
cial and residential development) and other aspects of
the resource base, such as water, scenic quality and
public services. Cumulative effects shall also be dis-
cussed when found to be significant.
2. Any Significant Environmental Effects Which
Cannot be Avoided if the Proposal is Implemented. De-
scribe any significant impacts, including those which
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Aft.
• • Atilk
can be reduced to an insignificant level but not elim-
inated. Where there are impacts that cannot be allevi-
ated without imposing an alternative design, their im-
plications and the reasons why the project is being
proposed, notwithstanding their effect, should be de-
scribed. Describe significant impacts on any aesthe-
tically valuable surroundings, or on human health.
3. Mitiqation Measure Proposed to minimize the
Significant Effects. Describe significant, avoidable,
adverse impacts, including inefficient and unnecessary
consumption of energy and measures to minimize these
measures which are proposed by project proponents to
be included in the project and other measures that are
not included but could reasonably be expected to re-
duce adverse impacts. This discussion shall include
an identification of the acceptable levels to which
such impacts will be reduced, and the basis upon which
such levels were identified. Where several measures
are available to mitigate an impact, each should be
discussed and the basis for selecting a particular
measure should be identified. Energy conservation
measures, as well as other appropriate mitigation meas-
sures, shall be discussed when relevant.
4. Alternatives to the Proposed Action. De-
scribe all reasonable alternatives to the project, or
to the location of the project, which could feasibly
attain the basic objectives of the project, and why
they were rejected in favor of the ultimate choice.
The specific alternative of "no project" must also al-
ways be evaluated, along with the impact. The dis-
cussion of alternatives shall include alternatives cap-
able of substantially reducing or eliminating any sig-
nificant environmental effects, even if these alterna-
tives substantially impede the attainment of the pro-
ject objective and are most costly.
5. The_R_elationshi Between Local Short-Term
uses of Man's Environment and the Maintenance and En-
hancement of Lonq-Term Productivity. Describe the cum-
ulative and long-term effects of the proposed project
which adversely affect the state of the environment.
Special attention should be given to impacts which nar-
row the range of beneficial uses of the environment or
pose long-term risks to health or safety. In addition,
the reasons why the proposed project is believed by the
sponsor to be justified now, rather than reserving an
option for further alternatives, should be explained.
(But see Paragraph (9), infra)
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6. Any Significant Irreversible Environmental
Chanqes Which Would Be Involved in the Proposed Action
Should it be Implemented. Uses of nonrenewable re-
sources during the initial and continued phases of the
project may be irreversible since a large commitment
of such resources makes removal or nonuse thereafter
unlikely. Primary impacts and, particularly, secondary
impacts (such as a highway improvement which provides
access to a nonaccessible area) generally commit future
generations to similar uses. Also irreversible damage
can result from environmental accidents associated with
the project. Irretrievable commitments of resources
should be evaluated to assure that such current con-
sumption is justified. (But see Paragraph (9), infra)
7. The Growth-Inducinq Impact of the Proposed
Action. Discuss the ways in which the proposed project
could foster economic or population growth, either
directly or indirectly, in the surrounding environment.
Included in this are projects which would remove ob-
stacles to population growth (a major expansion of a
wastewater treatment plant might, for example, allow
for construction in service areas). Increases in the
population may further tax existing community service
facilities, so consideration must be given to this im-
pact. Also, discuss the characteristics of some pro-
jects which may encourage and facilitate other activi-
ties that could significantly affect the environment,
either individually or cumulative. It must not be
assumed that growth in any area is necessarily bene-
ficial, detrimental, or of little significance to the
environment.
8. Effects Found Not to be Significant. An
EIR shall contain a statement briefly indicating the
reasons that various possible significant effects of 'a
project were determined not to be significant and were
therefore not discussed in detail in the EIR. Such a
statement may be contained in an attached copy of an
Initial Study.
9. Incorporation by Reference.
a. An EIR may incorporate by reference all
or portions of another document which is a matter
of public record or is generally available to the
public. Where all or part of another document is
incorporated by reference, the incorporated lan-
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AIM6
guage shall be considered to be set forth in full
as part of the text of the EIR.
b. Where part of another document is in-
corporated by reference, such other document shall
be made available to the public for inspection at
a public place or public building. The EIR shall
state where the incorporated documents will be
available for inspection. At a minimum, the in-
corporated documents shall be made available to
the public in an office of the Lead Agency in
the county where the project would be carried out
or in one or more public buildings such as county
offices or public libraries if the Lead Agency
does not have an office in the county.
C. Where an EIR uses incorporation by ref-
erence, the incorporated part of the referenced
document shall be briefly summarized where pos-
sible or briefly described if the data or infor-
mation cannot be summarized. The relationship be-
tween the incorporated part of the referenced doc-
ument and the EIR shall be described.
10. Limitations on Discussion of Environmental
Impact. The information required by Subparagraphs
(D)(5) and (D) (6) of Section 61 of these Guidelines
need be included only in EIR's prepared in connection.
with any of the following activities:
a. The adoption, amendment, or enactment of
a plan, policy, or ordinance of the District;
b. The adoption by a local agency formation
commission of a resolution making the determina-
tions; or
c. A project which will be subject to the
requirement for preparing an environmental impact
statement pursuant to the requirements of the
National Environmental Policy.
Section 62. Preparation of Draft EIR; by Whom.
A. As to the projects defined in Section 28A(1 ) of
this Resolution, the Draft EIR shall be undertaken by the
staff or by private experts pursuant to contract with the
District.
B. As to projects defined in Sections 28A(2) and (3),
the person or entity proposing to carry out the project
-34-
shall submit a Draft EIR, containing the information re-
quired by Section 61 for review and consideration by the
staff. The staff shall independently analyze the Draft EIR
submitted pursuant to this subsection to verify its accuracy
and objectivity prior to certifying its completion. The
staff may, if it deems it appropriate, arrange to have this
analysis performed by a private expert in the field; in that
event, the fee charged by such expert shall be borne by the
person or agency proposing to carry out the project. Said
person or agency shall supply such additional data as the
staff may deem necessary for the completion of the Draft
EIR.
Section 63. Completion of Draft EIR.
A. When the staff is satisfied that the Draft EIR is
complete, it may either present the same to the Board for
determination as to completeness or it may make this deter-
mination itself. After the Draft EIR has been determined to
be complete, the staff shall prepare a Notice of Completion
on a form attached hereto as Exhibit "C". Said notice shall
contain the following:
1. A brief description of the proposed project;
2. The location of the proposed project;
3. Information indicating where copies of the
Draft EIR are available for review;
4. The period during which comments will be re-
ceived.
B. The notice shall be filed with the Secretary of
the Resources Agency and filing shall be deemed complete
when the Notice of Completion has been deposited in the
United States mail addressed to the Secretary of Resources,
or when delivered in person to the Office of the Secretary.
C. The District shall provide public notice of the
completion of a Draft EIR at the same time as it sends a
Notice of Completion to the Resources Agency. Notice shall
be mailed to all organizations and individuals who have
previously requested such notice and shall also be given by
at least one of the following procedures:
1. Publication at least one time by the District
in a newspaper of general circulation in the area
affected by the proposed project;
-35-
2. Posting
off the site in
be located;
•
of notice by the District on and
the area where the project is to
3. Direct mailing to owners of property contig-
uous to the project.
The alternatives for providing notice specified in this
subparagraph shall not preclude the District from providing
additional notice by other means if the District so desires,
nor shall the requirements of this section preclude the
District from providing the public notice required by this
section at the same time and in the same manner as public
notice otherwise required by law for such project.
D. The District shall use the State Clearinghouse
to distribute EIR's and other environmental documents to
state agencies for review and should use areawide clearing-
houses to distribute the documents to regional and local
agencies.
E. To make copies of EIR's available to the public,
the District may furnish copies of Draft EIR's to appropri-
ate public libraries.
F. Any person requesting a copy of the Draft EIR from
the District may be charged the actual cost of reproducing
it.
G. The District should compile listings of other
agencies, particularly local agencies, which have jurisdic-
tion by law and/or special expertise with respect to various
projects and project locations. Such listings should be a
guide in determining which agencies should be consulted with
regard to a particular project.
Section 64. Review of Draft EIR by Other Public Agencies
and Persons With Special Expertise.
A. General.
1. After filing and posting a Notice of Comple-
tion, the District shall submit copies of the Draft EIR
for review and shall consult with and attempt to obtain
comments from all public agencies having jurisdiction
by law over the proposed project. The identity of
those public agencies having jurisdiction by law over
the project shall be determined on a case-by-case
basis or as otherwise determined by the Board. Draft
EIR's and Negative Declarations shall be submitted to
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AM►
•
the State Clearinghouse where a state agency is a Re-
sponsible Agency.
2. The District may send copies of the Draft EIR
to public agencies or persons with special expertise
whose comments relative to the Draft EIR would be de-
sirable.
3. Each public agency and/or person to whom a
Draft EIR is sent shall be advised in writing that they
may submit written comments to the District within the
time established for review under Paragraph B, infra.
B. Time for Review. At the time the District files a
Notice of Completion, the staff shall establish a time
period so as to permit adequate review of and comment on the
Draft EIR by such public agencies or persons. The period of
time, to be established at the discretion of the staff,
shall be based upon the size and scope of the proposed
project, however, in no event shall the review period be
less than 30 days and no more than 90 days, except in
unusual circumstances, after the date of mailing or on de-
livery in person. If a state agency is a Responsible
Agency, the review period shall be no less than 45 days un-
less a shorter period is approved by the State Clearing-
house.
C. Failure to Comment. In the event a public agency
or person whose comments on a Draft EIR are solicited pur-
suant to Subparagraph A fails to comment within the time
period established pursuant to Subparagraph B, it shall be
presumed, absent a written request for a specific extension
of time for review and comment, together with the reasons
therefor, that such agency or person has no comment to make.
Any extension of time granted by the District shall be rea-
sonable under the circumstances, but ordinarily shall not
cover a period greater than the time period initially es-
tablished for review and comment pursuant to Subparagraph B.
D. Continued Planninq Activities. Continued planning
activities concerning the proposed project, short of formal
approval thereof, may continue during the period set aside
for review and comment on the Draft EIR.
Section 65. Public Hearings.
A. General. From time to time, depending upon the
nature and location of a proposed project, the Board in its
discretion, may find it desirable to conduct a public hear-
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i
ing on the environmental impact thereof. In such event, the
public hearing shall be conducted subsequent to the filing
and posting of the Notice of Completion, but in no event
sooner than 14 days thereafter. The Draft EIR shall be
used as the basis for discussion during any public hearing
that may be held.
B. Notice. Notice of the time and place of the pub-
lic hearing shall be published once in a newspaper of gen-
eral circulation which is printed, published and circulated
within the District. If there is no such newspaper, it may
be published in a newspaper of general circulation within
the District and it shall be posted at three public places
within the District, one of which shall be at the principal
offices of the District. Publication or posting shall be
done at least 14 days prior to the date set for public hear-
ing. Said notice also shall indicate where the Draft EIR is
available for review.
C. Public Hearinq Durinq Regular Meeting. A public
hearing may be scheduled to be conducted during the course
of a regular meeting of the Board.
D. Procedures for Conducting Public Hearings. The
procedures for the manner of conducting the public hearings
shall be prescribed by the Board at the time the hearing
convenes. Members of the public who attend shall be af-
forded the opportunity to participate in the hearing pro-.
cess.
Section 66. Final EIR.
A. Preparation. Following the receipt of comments on
the Draft EIP, by other public agencies and persons with spe-
cial expertise as required by Section 64 and if a public
hearing has been held pursuant to Section 65, following
such hearing, comments that have been received shall be
evaluated and then a Final EIR shall be prepared.
B. Contents. The Final EIR shall consist of the
Draft EIR or a revision thereof; a section containing a
statement of the comments received through the review and
consultation process set forth herein, either verbatim or in
summary; a list of persons, organizations and public agen-
cies commenting on the Draft EIR; and a section containing
a response to the significant environmental points that
are raised in the review and consultation process.
C. Response to Review. The response of the District
to comments received may take the form of a revision of the
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0
Draft EIR or may be an attachment to the Draft EIR. The re-
sponse shall describe the disposition of significant en-
vironmental issues raised (e.g., revisions to the proposed
project to mitigate anticipated impacts or objections). In
particular the major issues raised when the District's posi-
tion is at variance with recommendations and objections
raised in the comments must be addressed in detail giving
reasons why specific comments and suggestions were not ac-
cepted, and factors of overriding importance warranting an
override of the suggestions.
Section 67. Adoption of Final EIR by Board; Board Approval
or Disapproval of Project.
A. Following preparation of the Final EIR, it shall
be presented to the Board at a regular or special meeting.
If the Board finds the Final EIR to be in order, it shall
certify (a) that the Final EIR has been completed in com-
pliance with CEQA and the State Guidelines, and (b) that
the Board so certifies, it may proceed immediately to
consider the proposed project for purposes of approval or
disapproval. Members of the public may appear before th.e
Board and present their views prior to the Board's deter-
mination to approve or disapprove the project. The Board
may not delegate review and consideration of a Final EIR
prior to approving the project.
B. The District shall not approve or carry out a pro-
ject for which an EIR has been completed which identifies
one or more significant effects of the project unless the
District makes one or more of the following findings:
1. Changes or alterations have been required in,
or incorporated into, the project which mitigate or
avoid the significant environmental effects thereof as
identified in the Final EIR;
2. Such changes or alterations are within the
responsibility and jurisdiction of another public
agency and not the District. Such changes have been
adopted by such other agency or can and should be
adopted by such other agency.
3. Specific economic, social, or other overrid-
ing considerations make infeasible the mitigation mea-
sures or project alternatives identified in the Final
EIR.
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0
C. The finding in Subparagraph B shall not be made if
the District has concurrent jurisdiction with another agency
to deal with identified feasible mitigation measures or al-
ternatives.
D. 1. where the decision of the Board allows the
occurrence of significant effects identified in the
Final EIR without mitigation, the agency must state in
writing the reasons to support its action based on the
Final EIR and other information in the record.
2. If an agency makes a statement of overriding
considerations, the statement should be included in the
record of the project approval and should be mentioned
in the Notice of Determination.
Section 68. Notice of Determination.
A. Following approval or disapproval of the project,
the District shall cause to be prepared a Notice of Deter-
mination on a form attached hereto as Exhibit "D" which
shall contain the following:
1. An identification of the project by its com-
mon name where possible;
2. The decision of the District to approve or.
carry out the project;
3. The determination of the District whether the
project in its approved form will have a significant
effect on the environment; and
4. A brief statement of the mitigation measures
which were adopted by the District to reduce the im-
pacts of the approved project; and
5. A statement that an EIR was prepared pursuant
to the provisions of CEQA and was certified pursuant
to Section 15085(g) of the Secretary for Resources'
Guidelines.
B. Said notice shall then be filed with the County
Clerk of the county or counties in which the project is
located. If the project requires discretionary approval
from a state agency, the notice shall also be filed with
the Secretary for Resources.
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Section 69. Projects of Statewide, Regional or Areawide
Significance.
A. Projects meeting the criteria in this section
have been deemed to be of statewide, regional or areawide
significance. EIR's or Negative Declarations prepared by
the District on a project described in this section shall
be submitted to the State Clearinghouse and should be sub-
mitted also to the appropriate metropolitan area council
of governments for review and comment,
B. The District shall determine that a proposed pro-
ject is of statewide, regional, or areawide significance if
the project meets any of the following criteria:
1. A proposed local general plan, element, or
amendment thereof for which an EIR was prepared;
2. A project which would interfere with the
attainment or maintenance of state or national air
quality standards, including:
a. A proposed residential development of
more than 500 dwelling units;
b. A proposed shopping center or business
establishment employing more than 1,000 persons
or encompassing more than 500,000 square feet of
floor space;
C. A proposed commercial office building
employing more than 1,000 persons or encompassing
more than 250,000 square feet of floor space;
d. A proposed hotel/►notel development of
more than 500 rooms;
e. A proposed industrial, manufacturing or
processing plant, or industrial park planned to
house more than 1,000 persons, occupying more than
40 acres of land, or encompassing more than
650,000 square feet of floor area.
3. A project which would result in the cancella-
tion of an open space contract made pursuant to the
California Land Conservation Act of 1965 (Williamson
Act) for any parcel of 100 or more acres.
-41-
4. A project located in and substantially im-
pacting on an area of critical environmental sensitiv-
ity for which an EIR was prepared, including:
a. The Lake Tahoe Basin;
b. The Santa Monica Mountains Zone as de-
fined by Section 67463 of the Government Code;
C. The California Coastal Zone as defined
in, and mapped pursuant to, Section 30103 of the
Public Resources Code;
d. An area within 1/4 mile of a wide and
scenic river as defined by Section 5093.5 of the
Public Resources Code;
e. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, as de-
fined in Water Code Section 12220;
f. The Suisun Marsh as defined in Public
Resources Code Section 29101;
g. The jurisdiction of the San Francisco
Bay Conservation and Development Commission as de-
fined in Government Code Section 66610.
5. A project which would substantially affect
sensitive wildlife habitats, including but not limited
to riparian lands, wetlands, bays, estuaries, marshes,
and habitats for rare and endangered species as defined
by Fish and Game Code Section 903;
6. A project which would interfere with attain-
ment of regional water quality standards as stated in
the approved areawide wastewater management plan.
Section 70. Retention of Comments. All written comments
received on a Draft EIR through the formal consultation pro-
cess provided for in Section 58, as well as all written
comments that may be received independently of said process,
shall be retained at the District's office for a period of
at least one year following approval or disapproval of the
project to which they relate. In addition, said comments
shall be made available for public inspection at all rea-
sonable times.
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Section 71. Subsequent EIR's.
A. Where an EIR or Negative Declaration has been pre-
pared, no additional EIR need be prepared unless:
1. Substantial changes are proposed in the pro-
ject which will require major revisions of the EIR, due
to the involvement of new environmental impacts not
considered in the original EIR;
2. There are substantial changes with respect to
the circumstances under which the project is to be un-
dertaken, such as a substantial deterioration in the
air quality in the area where the project will be lo-
cated which will require major revisions in the EIR due
to the involvement of new environmental impacts not
covered in the original EIR; or
3. New information of substantial importance to
the project becomes available; and
a. The information was not known and could
not have been known at the time the EIR was certi-
fied as complete or the Negative Declaration was
adopted; and
b. The new information shows any of the
following:
(1) The project will have one or more
significant effects not discussed previously
in the EIR;
(2) Significant effects previously ex-
amined will be more severe than shown in the
EIR;
(3) Mitigation measures or alternatives
previously found not to be feasible would in
fact be feasible and would substantially re-
duce one or more significant effects of the
project; or
(4) Mitigation measures or alternatives
which were not previously considered in the
EIR would substantially lessen one or more
significant effects on the environment.
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AML AdWk
B. If the EIR or Negative Declaration has been com-
pleted but the project has not yet been approved, the Lead
Agency shall prepare or cause to be prepared the subsequent
EIR before approving the project.
C. If the project was approved prior to the occur-
rence of the conditions described in Subsection A, the sub-
sequent EIR shall be prepared by the public agency which
grants the next discretionary approval for the project. In
this situation no other Responsible Agency shall grant an
approval for the project until the subsequent EIR has been
completed.
Section 72. Use of a Sinqle EIR for More Than One Project.
A. Two Projects Undertaken at the Same Time. A sin-
gle EIR may be utilized to describe more than one project
when the projects are essentially the same in terms of en-
vironmental impacts. Any environmental impacts peculiar to
any one of the projects must be separately set forth and
explained.
B. Later Projects. An EIR on an earlier project may
be utilized to apply to a later project if the environmental
impacts of the projects are essentially the same. If there
are environmental impacts applicable to the later project
which were not associated with the earlier project, the
earlier EIR must be amended to separately set forth and ex-
plain said impacts.
Section 73. General Plan EIR with Subsequent Projects. The
EIR on a general plan may be used as the foundation document
for EIR's subsequently prepared for specific projects within
the geographic area covered by the general plan. The subse-
quent EIR on the general plan for the description of the
general environmental setting and as much of the description
of the environmental impacts as applies to the specific pro-
ject. Detailed information in the EIR on the specific pro-
ject may be limited to a description of the project, the
specific environmental setting and those impacts which are
not adequately described for the specific project in the EIR
on the general plan. When a subsequent EIR refers to an
EIR on the general plan for part of its description of the
environment and the environmental impacts, copies of the EIR
on the general plan shall be made available to the public in
a number of locations in the community and to any clearing-
houses which will assist in public review of the EIR. The
purpose, of this section is not to restrict analysis of en-
vironmental issues but is to avoid the necessity for re-
peating detail from a General Plan EIR.
Awlk AM
Section 74. Multiple and Phased Projects. Where individual
projects are, or a phased project is, to be undertaken and
where the total undertaking comprises a project with signi-
ficant environmental effect, the District if it is a Lead
Agency must prepare a single EIR for the ultimate project.
Where an individual project is a necessary precedent for ac-
tion on a larger project, or commits the Lead Agency to a
larger project, with significant environmental effect, an
EIR must address itself to the scope of the larger project.
Where one project is one of several similar projects of the
District, but is not deemed a part of a larger undertaking
or a larger project, the District may prepare one EIR for
all projects, or one for each project, but shall in either
case comment upon the cumulative effect.
Section 75. Staged EIR.
A. Where a large capital project will require a num-
ber of discretionary approvals from governmental agencies
and one of the approvals will occur more than two years be-
fore construction will begin, a staged EIR may be prepared
covering the entire project in a general form. The staged
EIR should evaluate the proposal in light of current and
contemplated plans and produce an informed estimate of the
environmental consequences of the entire project. The as-
pect of the project before the District for approval shall
be discussed with a greater degree of specificity.
B. When a staged EIR has been prepared, a supplement
to the EIR shall be prepared when a later approval is re-
quired for the project, and the information available at the
time of the later approval would permit consideration of ad-
ditional environmental impacts, mitigation measures, or rea-
sonable alternatives to the project.
C. Where a statute such as the Warren-Alquist Energy
Resources Conservation and Development Act provides that a
specific agency shall be the Lead Agency for a project and
requires the Lead Agency to prepare an EIR, a Responsible
Agency which must grant an approval for the project before
the Lead Agency has completed the EIR may prepare and con-
sider a staged EIR.
ARTICLE IX - PARTIAL INVALIDITY
Section 76. In the event any part or provision of these
Guidelines shall be determined to be invalid, the remaining
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AIMk
portions which can be separated from the invalid unenforce-
able provisions shall nevertheless continue in full force
and effect.
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EXHIBIT A
PRELIMINARY ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
DISTRICT
Name of Project
Location
(address)
Entity or Person Undertaking Project:
A. District
B. Other
Name
Address
Staff Determination:
The District's staff, having undertaken and completed.a
preliminary review of this project in accordance with the
District's "Local Guidelines Implementing the California En-
vironmental Quality Act", has concluded that this project
does not require further environmental assessment because:
1. The proposed action does not constitute a project
within the meaning of Section 28.
2. The project is a Ministerial Project under Section
4.
3. The project is an Emergency Project under Section
5.
4. The project constitutes a Feasibility or Planning
Study under Section 6.
5. The proposal will not be approved as provided in
Section 7.
6. The project is Categorically Exempt under Section
44.
Applicable Exemption Class
7. The project involves another public agency which
constitutes the Lead Agency.
Name of Lead Agency
DATE MANAGER
EXHIBIT A
L.Allli:l 'L 15
NOTICE OF EXEMPTION
DISTRICT
(address)
Project Title
Project Location - Specific
Project Location - City County
Description of Nature, Purpose, and Beneficiaries of Project
Name of Public Agency Approving Project
Name of Person or Agency Carrying Out Project
Exempt status: See Preliminary Environmental Assessment
attached.
Reasons why project is exempt
Contact Person Area Code Phone Extension
If filed by applicant:
1. Attach certified document of exemption finding.
2. Has a notice of exemption been filed by the public
agency approving the Project? yes no
DATE MANAGER'
"Fi T 13 I T R
i
NOTICE OF COMPLETION
1 , ~ , }}}l/lXlll///
DISTRICT
Responsible Agency
Name of Project
Location
Contact Person
Division
Area Code Phone Extension
Project Description of Nature, Purpose, and Beneficiaries
Project Location - City
Project Location - County
Address where copy of Draft EIR is available
DATE MANAGER
(address)
EXIIIBIT C
.r,
Afth
NOTICE OF DETERMINATION
DISTRICT
(address)
TO: County Clerk
County of
Responsible Agency
Name of Project
Location
Division
Contact Person Area Code Phone Extension
The Board of Directors of the
District, on , 19 , has approved the
described project and has taken the following action:
1. Determined that the project will/ will not have a
significant effect on the environment.
2. An EIR has been prepared pursuant to the provisions
of the California Environmental Quality Act and was
certified pursuant to Section 15085(g) of the State EIR
Guidelines.
3. A statement of Overriding Consideration was/
was not adopted for this project.
4. Mitigation measures adopted to reduce the impacts of
the approved project:
DATE MANAGER
11IDIT D
AdI►
ENVIRONMENTAL CHECKLIST FORM
(To be completed by Lead Agency)
I. BACKGROUND
1. Name of Proponent
2. Address and Phone number of Proponent:
3. Date of Checklist Submitted
4. Agency Requiring Checklist
5. Name of Proposal, if applicable
II. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
(Explanations of all "yes" and "maybe" answers are required
on attached sheets.)
YES MAYBE NO
1. Earth. Will the proposal result in:
a. Unstable earth conditions or in
changes in geological substructures?
b. Disruptions, displacements, com-
paction or overcovering of the soil?
C. Change in topography or ground
surfaco relief features?
d. The destruction, covoring or
modification of any unicrue cjeologic
or physical features?
e. An-,, increase in wind, or waL(( r
erosion of soils, either on or off
the site?
f. Changes in deposition or erosion
of beach sands, or changes in
siltation, deposition or erosion
%..,hich may modify the channel of
a river or stream or the bed of
the ocean or any bay, inlet or lake?
g. Exposure of people or property to
geologic hazards such as earthquakes,
landslides, mudslides, ground failure,
or similar hazards?
E'-:IIIi IT "E"
AOL AN"
YES MAYBE NO
2. Air. Will the proposal result in:
a. Substantial air emissions or
deterioration of ambient air quality?
b. The creation of objectionable
odors? '
c. Alteration of air movement,
moisture or temperature, or any
change in climate, either locally
or regionally?
3. Water. Will the proposal result in:
a. Changes in currents, or the course
or direction of water movements, in
either marine or fresh waters?
b. Changes in absorption rates,
drainage patterns, or the rate
and amount of surface water runoff?
C. Alterations to the course or
flow of flood waters?
d. Change in the amount of surface
water in anv water bodv?
e. Discharge into surface waters, or
in anv alteration of surface water
quality, including but not limited
to temperature, dissolved oxygen or
turbidity?
f. Alteration of the direction or
rate of flow of ground water:;,?
g. Change in the quantity of ground
waters, either through direct additions
or withdrawals, or through interception
of an aquifer by cuts or excavations?
h. Substantial reduction in the
amount of water otherwise available
for public water supplies?
i. Exposure of people or property
to water related hazards such as
flooding or tidal waves?
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AMOK IN*
.
YES MAYBE NO
4. Plant Life. Will the proposal result
in:
a. Change in the diversity of species,
or number of any species of plants
(including trees, shrubs, grass,
crops, microflora and aquatic plants)?
b. Reduction of the numbers or any
unique, rare or endangered species
of plants?
C. Introduction of new species of
plants into an area, or in a barrier
to the normal replenishment of
existing species?
d. Reduction in acreage of any
agricultural crop?
5. Animal Life. Will the proposal
result in:
a. Change in the diversity of
species, or numbers of any species
or animals (birds, land animals
including reptiles, fish and
shellfish, benthic organisms,
insects or microfauna)?
b. Reduction of the numbers of any
unique, rare or endangered species
of animals?
C. Introduction of new species of
animals into an area, or result in
a barrier to the migration or
movement of animals?
d. Deterioration to existing fish
or wildlife habitat?
6. Noise. Will the proposal result in:
a. Increases in existing noise
levels?
b. Emposuro of people to severe
noise levels?
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YES MAYBE NO
7. Light and Glare. Will the proposal
produce new light or glare?
8. Land Use. Will the proposal result
in a substantial alteration of the
present or planned land use of an
area?
9. Natural Resources. Will the
proposal result in:
a. Increase in the rate of use of
any natural resources?
b. Substantial depletion of any
nonrenewable natural resource?
10. Risk of Upset. Does the proposal
involve a risk of an explosion or
the release of hazardous substances
(including, but not limited to, oil,
pesticides, chemicals or radiation)
in the event of an accident or
upset conditions?
11. Pcoulation. will the proposal alter
the location, distribution, density,
or growth rate of the human popula-
tion of an area?
12. Housing. Will the proposal affect
existing housing, or create a
demand for additional housing?
13. Transportation/Circulation. Will
the proposal result in:
a. Goncration of substantial addi-
ticnal vehicular movement?
b. Effects on existing parking
facilities, or demand for new
parking?
C. Substantial impact upon existing
transportation systems?
d. Alterations to present patterns
of circulation or movement of
pooplc and/or goods?
1 -
.ems.
YES MAYBE NO
e. Alterations to waterborne, rail
or air traffic?
f. Increase in traffic hazards to
motor vehicles, bicyclists or
pedestrians?
14. Public Services. Will the proposal
have an effect upon, or result in
a need for near or altered govern-
mental services in any of the
following areas:
a. Fire protection?
b. Police protection?
C. Sc^ools?
d. Parks or other recreational
facilities?
e. Maintenance of public facili-
ties, including roads?
f. Other governmental services?
15. Ener,^v. Will the proposal result in:
a. Use of substantial amounts of
fuel or energy?
b. Substantial increase in demand
upon existing sources of energy,
or reuuire the dovelopment of ne`,.r
sources of energy?
16. Utilities. Will the proposal result
in a need for now systems, or
substantial alterations to the
following utilities:
a. Po%.;cr or natural gas?
b. Communications systems"?
C. .dater?
d. Sower or septic tan"-s?
e. Storm otiatcr drainage?
Solid waste and disposal?
v
YES MAYBE NO
17. Human Health. Will the proposal
result in:
a. Creation of any health hazard or
potential health hazard (excluding
mental health)?
b. Exposure of people to potential
health hazards?
18. Aesthetics. will the proposal result
in the obstruction of any scenic
vista or view open to the public, or
will the proposal result in the
creation of an aesthetically offen-
sive site open to public view?
19. Recreation. Will the proposal result
in an inioact upon the quality or
quantity of existing recreational
opportunities?
20. Archcoloaical;'ristorical. Will the
proposal result in an alteration
of a significant archeological or
historical site, structure, object
or building?
21. Mandator; Findings of Si,cni?:icance.
a. Does the project have the potential
to degrade the quality of the environ-
ment, substantially reduce the habitat
of a fish or wildlife species, cause a
fish or wildlife population to drop
below self sustaining levels, threaten
to eliminate a plant or animal com-
munity, reduce the number or restrict
the range of a rare or endangered plant
or animal or eliminate important
examples of the major periods of Cali-
fornia history or prehistory?
b. Does the project have the poten-
tial to achieve short-term, to the
disadvantage of long-terra, environ-
mental goals? (A short-term impact on
the environment is one which occurs in
a relatively brief, definitive period
of time while lone-term impacts will
endure well into the future.)
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YES MAYBE NO
C. Does the project have impacts
which are individually limited, but
cumulatively considerable? (A
project may impact on two or more
separate resources where the impact
on each resource is relatively
small, but where the effect of the
total of those impacts on the environ-
ment is significant.)
d. Does the project have environ-
mental effects which will cause
substantial adverse effect on
human beings, either directly or
indirectly?
III. DISCUSSION Or ENVIRON%1ENTAL EVALUATION
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