BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1569
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Date of Hearing: April 4, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Das Williams, Chair
AB 1569
(Steinorth) - As Amended March 28, 2016
SUBJECT: California Environmental Quality Act: exemption:
existing transportation infrastructure
SUMMARY: Exempts from the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA) a transportation infrastructure project, if the project
is located within an existing right-of-way and does not add
additional motor vehicle lanes, except auxiliary lanes
EXISTING LAW:
1)CEQA requires lead agencies with the principal responsibility
for carrying out or approving a proposed project to prepare a
negative declaration, mitigated negative declaration, or
environmental impact report (EIR) for this action, unless the
project is exempt from CEQA (CEQA includes various statutory
exemptions, as well as categorical exemptions in the CEQA
Guidelines).
2)Exempts, until January 1, 2020, minor roadway repairs,
maintenance, and minor alterations meeting the following
conditions:
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a) The project is carried out by a city or county with
a population of less than 100,000 to improve public
safety.
b) The project does not cross a "waterway" (defined as
a bay; estuary; lake; pond; river; slough; or a
perennial, intermittent, or ephemeral stream, lake; or
estuarine-marine shoreline).
c) Exclude projects on state roadways; sites containing
wetlands, riparian areas, and significant wildlife
habitat value; and that harm any protected species,
impact cultural resources, or affect scenic resources.
d) Require the lead agency to mitigate potential
vehicular traffic and safety impacts, and bicycle and
pedestrian safety impacts; hold a noticed public hearing
on the project to hear and respond to public comments;
and to file a notice of exemption with the Office of
Planning and Research (OPR).
3)Exempts any emergency project to maintain, repair, or restore
an existing highway, except for a state-designated scenic
highway, within the existing right-of-way of the highway,
damaged as a result of fire, flood, storm, earthquake, land
subsidence, gradual earth movement, or landslide, within one
year of the damage. This section does not exempt any project
to expand or widen a damaged highway.
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4)Exempts the following specific transportation projects:
a) U.S. Highway 101 interchange modification, adding
southbound auxiliary lane and southbound mixed flow lane,
from Interstate 280 to Yerba Buena Road, in Santa Clara
County.
b) Construct north and southbound high-occupancy
vehicle lanes on I-805 from I-5 to Carroll Canyon Road,
including construction of north-facing direct access
ramps in San Diego County.
c) State Route 99, Los Molinas rehabilitation and
traffic calming, from Orange Street to Tehama Vine Road,
in Tehama County.
d) State Route 99, Island Park widening project, adding
one mixed flow lane in each direction, from Ashlan Avenue
to Grantlund Avenue, in Fresno County.
e) State Route 99 median widening, adding one mixed
flow lane in each direction, from State Route 120 west to
0.4 miles north of Arch Road, in Manteca in San Joaquin
County.
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f) State Route 12 pavement rehabilitation and shoulder
widening in San Joaquin County on Bouldin Island.
g) State Route 91 widening, adding one mixed flow lane
in each direction, from State Route 55 to Weir Canyon
Road in Orange County.
h) U.S. Highway 101 pavement rehabilitation and
shoulder widening in San Luis Obispo County.
5)Requires the CEQA Guidelines to include a list of classes of
projects which have been determined not to have a significant
effect on the environment and which shall, therefore, be
exempt from CEQA. These "categorical exemptions" include work
on existing facilities where there is negligible expansion of
an existing use, specifically including "(e)xisting highways
and streets?" [CEQA Guidelines, Section 15301(c)]. Unlike
statutory exemptions, categorical exemptions are subject to
exceptions to assure the project claiming the exemption does
not have a significant effect on the environment. The
exceptions include when the cumulative impact of successive
projects of the same type in the same place, over time is
significant, and well as when there is a reasonable
possibility that the activity will have a significant effect
on the environment due to unusual circumstances. In addition,
a categorical exemption may not be used for a project which
may result in damage to scenic resources within a
state-designated scenic highway.
THIS BILL:
1)Exempts from CEQA the inspection, maintenance, repair,
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rehabilitation, replacement, or removal of existing
transportation infrastructure, including, but not limited to,
highways, roadways, bridges, culverts, tunnels, transit
systems, bikeways, and paths and sidewalks serving bicycles or
pedestrians, or both bicycles and pedestrians, or the addition
of an auxiliary lane or bikeway to existing transportation
infrastructure if the project is located within an existing
right-of-way, and any area surrounding the right-of-way that
is to be altered as a result of construction activities that
are necessary for the completion of the project will be
restored to its condition before the project, and does not add
additional motor vehicle lanes, except auxiliary lanes.
2)Requires the public agency carrying out the project to:
a) Notify, in writing, any affected public agency,
including, but not limited to, any public agency having
permit, land use, environmental, public health
protection, or emergency response authority over the
project.
b) Provide the notice of exemption to OPR if the
project is approved or carried out by a state agency or
to the county clerk of each county in which the project
will be located if the project is approved or carried out
by a local agency.
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c) Comply with all conditions otherwise authorized by
law, and any conditions imposed by the city or county
planning department as part of any applicable local
agency permit process that are required to mitigate
potential impacts of the project and to otherwise comply
with applicable state and federal law.
3)Defines "auxiliary lane" as the portion of the roadway used
for weaving, truck climbing, speed change, or for other
purposes supplemental to through traffic movement.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
1)Background. CEQA provides a process for evaluating the
environmental effects of applicable projects undertaken or
approved by public agencies. If a project is not exempt from
CEQA, an initial study is prepared to determine whether the
project may have a significant effect on the environment.
If the initial study shows that there would not be a
significant effect on the environment, the lead agency must
prepare a negative declaration. If the initial study shows
that the project may have a significant effect on the
environment, the lead agency must prepare an EIR. Generally,
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an EIR must accurately describe the proposed project, identify
and analyze each significant environmental impact expected to
result from the proposed project, identify mitigation measures
to reduce those impacts to the extent feasible, and evaluate a
range of reasonable alternatives to the proposed project.
Prior to approving any project that has received environmental
review, an agency must make certain findings. If mitigation
measures are required or incorporated into a project, the
agency must adopt a reporting or monitoring program to ensure
compliance with those measures.
It should be noted that CEQA already provides alternatives to
comprehensive environmental review for minor projects. First,
the CEQA Guidelines provide a categorical exemption for work
on existing facilities where there is negligible expansion of
an existing use, specifically including "(e)xisting highways
and streets?" (CEQA Guidelines, Section 15301(c)). Second, if
the project is not exempt from CEQA, but the initial study
shows that it would not result in a significant effect on the
environment, the lead agency must prepare a negative
declaration, and no EIR is required.
2)Author's statement:
This bill solves a problem in that CEQA, while well-intentioned,
is often abused by persons/organizations who oppose a project
for any myriad of reasons. Beyond litigation delays, the nature
of bureaucracy and government approval processes naturally
subjects any project that must undergo a CEQA review to an
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unpredictable timeline, increasing project costs and delaying
meaningful action.
The Governor has recommended the specific policy of AB 1569 as
part of his larger transportation package. However, his
proposals, as well as those introduced by legislators in the
special session, appear to be stalled. Thus, AB 1569 ensures
that a sound policy with bipartisan support does not fail simply
because the greater picture of a complete transportation package
presents more complex discussions.
AB 1569 will streamline the environmental review and permitting
processes for transportation projects to avoid potentially
duplicative analysis, while still maintaining environmental
protections. AB 1569 will maximize government efficiency as the
state embarks on a $57 billion task to repair and improve
California's infrastructure to support our greater economy.
Limited in scope, AB 1569 is an appropriate and reasonable CEQA
efficiency measure for projects to inspect, maintain, repair, or
replace existing highways and roads. While there is
significant debate regarding how to fund these projects, the
Legislature must also consider how to complete these projects
efficiently - securing billions of dollars in funding will be a
futile effort if transportation projects are not acted upon once
that time comes.
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With regard to the critical importance of protecting our
environment, AB 1569 specifies that any area impacted by a
project must be restored to its original condition once the
project is completed. All projects must also comply with all
requirements of the city or county planning department to
mitigate potential environmental impacts of the project. Any
impacted agency with environmental, land use, public health,
emergency response, or permitting authority over the impacted
land would have to be notified of the project appropriately.
3)Existing transportation project exemptions have well-reasoned
limits, which this bill would remove. As noted in the
existing law section, there are a multitude of exemptions for
transportation projects which do not involve significant
environmental impacts. Transportation infrastructure projects
routinely are approved via exemption or negative declaration.
By establishing a broad statutory exemption, this bill would
eliminate the exceptions which require projects to be reviewed
to assure the project does not have a significant effect on
the environment before a categorical exemption is claimed.
The bill increases the scope of exempt projects to include
road projects which expand motor vehicle capacity, as well as
projects that damage scenic resources on state-designated
scenic highways, which are not eligible for exemption under
current law. The bill also removes the authority of
responsible agencies to apply CEQA when issuing permits.
4)Double referral. This bill has been double-referred to the
Transportation Committee.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
American Council of Engineering Companies
California Chamber of Commerce
California Construction and Industrial Materials Association
California State Association of Counties
California Transportation Commission
Civil Justice Association of California
County of San Bernardino
County of Santa Clara, Board of Supervisors
Metropolitan Transportation Commission
Orange County Transportation Authority
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San Bernardino Associated Governments
Santa Clara County, Board of Supervisors
Southern California Association of Governments
United Contractors
Western States Trucking Association
Opposition
Planning and Conservation League
Analysis Prepared by:Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
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