REPORT:
Lead Agency Projects and Environmental Documents Received by the AQMD
SYNPOSIS:
This report provides, for the Board’s consideration, a listing of CEQA
documents received by the AQMD between November 1, 2005, and November 30,
2005, and those projects for which the AQMD is acting as lead agency
pursuant to CEQA.
COMMITTEE:
Mobile Source, November 21, 2005
RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:
Receive and file.
Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer
Background
CEQA Document Receipt and Review Logs (Attachments A and B) – Each
month, the AQMD receives numerous CEQA documents from other public agencies
on projects that could adversely affect air quality. A listing of all
documents received during the reporting period of November 1, 2005, through
November 30, 2005, is contained in Attachment A. A list of active projects
from previous reporting periods for which AQMD staff is continuing to
evaluate or prepare comments is included as Attachment B.
The Intergovernmental Review function, which consists of reviewing and
commenting on the adequacy of the air quality analysis in CEQA documents
prepared by other lead agencies, is consistent with the Governing Board’s
1997 Environmental Justice Guiding Principles and Initiative #4. Consistent
with the Environmental Justice Program Enhancements for Fiscal Year
2002-2003 approved by the Governing Board in September 2002, each of the
attachments notes those proposed projects where the AQMD has been contacted
regarding potential air quality-related environmental justice concerns. The
AQMD has established an internal central contact to receive information on
projects with potential air quality-related environmental justice concerns.
The public may contact the AQMD about projects of concern by the following
means: in writing via fax, e-mail, or standard letters; through telephone
communication; as part of oral comments at AQMD meetings or other meetings
where AQMD staff is present; or submitting newspaper articles. With input
from the public, the AQMD will identify in the future types of projects or
projects in specific geographical areas that will be highlighted. The
attachments also identify for each project the dates of the public comment
period and the public hearing date, if known at the time the CEQA document
is received by the AQMD.
At the November 4, 2005 Governing Board meeting Chairman Burke introduced
a set of Clean Port Initiatives. One action item of the Chairman’s
Initiatives is to prepare a monthly report describing CEQA documents for
projects related to goods movement and to make full use of the process to
ensure the air quality impacts of such projects are thoroughly mitigated. In
response to describing goods movement CEQA documents, Attachment A has been
reorganized to group the following categories: goods movement projects;
schools; landfills and wastewater projects; airports; and general land use
projects; etc. In response to the mitigation component, staff is developing
guidance on available technologies to mitigate impacts from equipment
associated with goods movement and other types of projects of interest. The
guidance information would ultimately be uploaded onto the CEQA webpages
portion of the AQMD’s website.
As resources permit, staff focuses on reviewing and preparing comments
for projects: where the AQMD is a responsible agency; that may have
significant adverse regional air quality impacts (e.g., special event
centers, landfills, goods movement etc.); that may have localized or toxic
air quality impacts (e.g., warehouse and distribution centers); where
environmental justice concerns have been raised; and those projects for
which a lead or responsible agency has specifically requested AQMD review.
During the period November 1, 2005, through November 30, 2005, the AQMD
received 50 CEQA documents. Of the total of 84 documents listed in
Attachments A and B:
- 14 comment letters were sent;
- 35 documents were reviewed, but no comments were made;
- 31 documents are currently under review;
- 4 documents did not require comments (e.g., public notices, plot
plans, Final Environmental Impact Reports); and
- 0 documents were not reviewed.
Copies of all comment letters sent to lead agencies can be found on the
AQMD’s CEQA webpage at the following internet address:
www.aqmd.gov/ceqa/letters.html.
AQMD Lead Agency Projects (Attachment C) – Pursuant to CEQA, the
AQMD periodically acts as lead agency for stationary source permit projects.
Under CEQA, the lead agency is responsible for determining whether an
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) or a Negative Declaration (ND) is
appropriate for any proposal considered to be a “project” as defined by CEQA.
An EIR is prepared when the AQMD, as lead agency, finds substantial evidence
that the proposed project may have significant adverse effects on the
environment. A ND or Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) may be prepared if
the AQMD determines that the proposed project will not generate significant
adverse environmental impacts, or the impacts can be mitigated to less than
significance. The ND and MND are written statements describing the reasons
why proposed projects will not have a significant adverse effect on the
environment and, therefore, do not require the preparation of an EIR.
Attachment C to this report summarizes the active projects for which the
AQMD is lead agency and is currently preparing or has prepared environmental
documentation. Through November the AQMD received two new requests to be the
lead agency for stationary source permit application projects. No CEQA
documents for a permit application projects were certified in November. As
noted in Attachment C, through the end of November 2005, the AQMD continued
working on the CEQA documents for five active projects.
Since January of 2005, AQMD staff has been responsible for preparing or
having prepared CEQA documents for 12 stationary source permit projects. To
date in 2005, seven of these CEQA documents have been certified. Another
project was deemed exempt from CEQA and the permit was issued in February.
Attachments (DOC 337kb)
A. Incoming CEQA Documents Log
B. Ongoing Active Projects for Which AQMD Has or Will Conduct a CEQA Review
C. Active AQMD Lead Agency Projects
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