"The Environment" Ans✓✓✓ Natural surroundings
- Water
- Air quality
- Geology, soils
- Biological, wildlife, plants, habitats
Built surroundings
- Traffic/transportation
- Noise
- Agriculture
- Recreation
- Land use conflicts
Human health
- Damage from natural disasters
- Risk of contracting disease
- Risk of exposure to hazardous materials
1972 Friends of Mammoth v. Board of Supervisors of Mono County
Ans✓✓✓ Extended CEQA's reach beyond just public projects to also
include private projects requiring a government permit or entitlement.
,"CEQA was intended to be interpreted in such a manner as to afford the
fullest possible protection to the environment within the reasonable
scope of the statutory language."
5 main objectives of CEQA: Ans✓✓✓ 1) Foster intergovernmental
coordination
2) Avoid/reduce environmental damage
3) Disclose environmental impacts
4) Disclose agency decision making
5) Enhance public participation
Avoid/reduce environmental damage (CEQA objective) Ans✓✓✓
Mitigation measures, alternatives, mitigation monitoring and reporting
programs
California Natural Resources Agency and CEQA Ans✓✓✓ State
administration and oversight
Formal rule making and adoption of Guidelines
Review/approve "Functional Equivalent" regulatory programs
Categorical Exemption EXCEPTIONS Ans✓✓✓ Reasonable
possibility that the activity may have a significant environmental impact
due to unusual circumstances
, Cumulative impacts would be significant
Project affects scenic resources with official state scenic highways
Project is located on a hazardous waste site list maintained by the Cal
EPA "Cortese List"
Project causes substantial adverse changes in significant historic
resources
Categorical exemption to CEQA Ans✓✓✓ Broad categories (or
"Classes") of exemptions that have minimal adverse environmental
effects
Each public agency must publish its own list of specific activities that
fall within each class
CEQA "Project" Ans✓✓✓ An activity directly undertaken by a public
agency
An activity that is supported in whole or part through public agency
funds, loans, grants, etc