California Environmental Quality Act Compliance

Summary

This practice note provides practical guidance on the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA, pronounced "see-kwa"), California's broadest environmental law. CEQA requires state and local governmental agencies that carry out or approve discretionary projects to evaluate, disclose, and mitigate environmental effects of those projects before taking action. CEQA does not establish regulatory environmental standards, but rather establishes broad environmental policies for the purpose of informing governmental decisionmakers and the public about the significant environmental effects of proposed projects and feasible ways to mitigate these effects. CEQA does not grant state or local agencies new powers to mitigate environmental effects of proposed projects. However, agencies may use powers granted by other laws to require project mitigation or deny or modify projects with significant adverse environmental effects.