Addendum to an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)

Summary

This template is an addendum to an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). It is intended as a general drafting aid and will require customization and modification according to the particular circumstances of the project, preferred agency formats, and its final EIR. This template includes practical guidance, drafting notes, and an optional clause. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires public agencies to analyze and consider the environmental consequences of their decisions to approve development projects over which they exercise discretion. CEQA achieves this objective by requiring agencies to prepare Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs) for projects with the potential to cause significant impacts on the physical environment. EIRs are public documents that assess environmental effects related to the planning, construction, and operation of a project, and indicate ways to reduce or avoid possible environmental damage. CEQA and the CEQA Guidelines provide that when an environmental impact report has been prepared for a project, no subsequent or supplemental environmental impact report will be required unless certain specified events occur. Cal. Pub. Res. Code § 21166; 14 CCR 15162. As articulated in the CEQA Guidelines, these are when: (1) substantial changes are proposed in the project which will require major revisions of the EIR due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects; (2) substantial changes occur with respect to the circumstances under which the project is being undertaken which will require major revisions in the EIR due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects; or (3) new information of substantial importance, which was not known and could not have been known with the exercise of reasonable diligence at the time the environmental impact report was certified as complete, becomes available, and the new information shows that: (a) the project will have one or more significant effects not discussed in the previous EIR; (b) significant effects previously examined will be substantially more severe than shown in the previous EIR; (c) mitigation measures or alternatives previously found not to be feasible would in fact be feasible and would substantially reduce one or more significant effects of the project, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measure or alternative; or (d) mitigation measures or alternatives which are considerably different from those analyzed in the previous EIR would substantially reduce one or more significant effects on the environment, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measure or alternative. As set forth in CEQA Guidelines Section 15164, an Addendum to an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is appropriate for use under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) when some changes or additions to the analysis are necessary, but none of the conditions specified under Section 15162 of the CEQA Guidelines have occurred. The CEQA Guidelines are contained in Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations (14 CCR 15000 et seq.) Note that somewhat different standards apply to preparation of an addendum to an adopted negative declaration. This discussion focuses on an addendum to a previously certified EIR, An Addendum to an EIR need not be circulated for public review. Rather, an Addendum will be attached to the final EIR. The decision making body must consider the Addendum along with the final EIR prior to making a decision on the revised project or subsequent discretionary action required to carry out a project. A lawyer for an applicant, or for a decision-making body (such as a City Attorney), should ensure that the Addendum is provided to decision makers along with the final EIR, and that the approval findings expressly reflect that the Addendum was considered along with the final EIR prior to making a decision on the project. The Addendum, the agency's CEQA findings, or other documentation in the record must include a brief explanation, supported by substantial evidence, of the decision not to prepare a subsequent EIR pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15162. 14 CCR 15162(e). To illustrate the type of detail and discussion that would be provided in what will be a highly project specific, and technically informed analysis, the template below includes a hypothetical set of facts. The hypothetical facts and discussion that would necessarily be modified for each project are included in brackets. CEQA does not require a specific form or format for the Addendum, but many agencies will have standard or preferred formats. This template provides key required content and one potential format, but the decision-making entity's preferred format should be confirmed before commencing preparation of the Addendum. For more information on CEQA, see California Environmental Quality Act Compliance. For more information on environmental concerns generally, see Environmental Considerations in Real Estate Transactions Resource Kit, Environmental Due Diligence in Real Estate Transactions, and Environmental Impact Review in Real Estate Transactions.