SB 1097

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that the lead agency proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. This bill would exempt from CEQA projects that consist of the inspection, maintenance, repair, restoration, reconditioning, reconductoring with advanced conductors, replacement, or removal of a transmission wire or cable used to conduct electricity or other piece of equipment that is directly attached to the wire or cable and that meet certain requirements. If a lead agency determines that a project is exempt from CEQA pursuant to the above-described provision, the bill would require the lead agency to file a notice of exemption with the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation and the county clerk in each county in which the project is located, as provided. By increasing the duties of a lead agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would, for a project to construct (1) a solar photovoltaic or terrestrial wind electrical generating powerplant, (2) an energy storage system, (3) a stationary electrical generating powerplant using any source of thermal energy, as provided, or (4) specified overhead electrical transmission lines, establish a modified approval process for a lead agency to follow when approving those projects, as provided. In order to use the modified approval process, the bill would require certain of these projects to not be located on specified lands and, for a project to construct specified overhead electrical transmission lines, to, among other things, not include construction that physically disturbs specified lands, as provided. The bill would, for the above-described projects, require that the lead agency determine, based upon substantial evidence in light of the whole record before the lead agency, that it is more likely than not that a project will have a significant effect on the environment, as defined, for purposes of the preparation of an EIR. Because the bill would require a lead agency to make these determinations, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. CEQA provides that the existence of a public controversy over the environmental effects of a project shall not require the preparation of an EIR if there is no substantial evidence in light of the whole record before the lead agency that the project may have a significant effect on the environment. This bill would instead provide, for the above-described projects, that the existence of public controversy over the environmental effects of a project shall not require preparation of an EIR if an EIR would not otherwise be required by CEQA. The bill would also require that an action or proceeding brought to attack, review, set aside, void, or annul the adoption of a negative declaration or mitigated negative declaration as described above, or the granting of any project approvals, including any potential appeals to the court of appeal or the Supreme Court, be resolved, to the extent feasible, within 270 days of the filing of the certified record of proceedings with the court. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.