BILL NUMBER: AB 2313 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 5, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Buchanan
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to add Section 21082.3 to the Public Resources Code,
relating to public resources.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2313, as amended, Buchanan. Greenhouse gas: emissions:
significant effects.
The
(1) The California Global Warming
Solutions Act of 2006 requires the State Air Resources Board (state
board) to adopt regulations to require the reporting and verification
of emissions of greenhouse gases and to monitor and enforce
compliance with the reporting and verification program, and requires
the state board to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
limit equivalent to the statewide GHG emissions levels in 1990 to be
achieved by 2020. The act requires the state board to adopt
rules and regulations in an open public process to achieve the
maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective GHG emission
reductions. The act requires all state agencies to consider and
implement strategies to reduce their GHG emissions.
This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation regarding the determination of significant effects
resulting from greenhouse gas emissions.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead
agency to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the
completion of, an environmental impact report on a project, as
defined, that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a
significant effect on the environment, as defined, or to adopt a
negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that
effect.
This bill would require a lead agency, in determining whether a
project may have a significant effect on the environment, relating to
the GHG emissions associated with the project, to apply specified
criteria. By requiring a local lead agency to apply those criteria,
the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would provide that it is intended to specify standards
for determining the significance of a project's environmental effects
relating to GHG emissions under CEQA, and that it does not limit the
application to proposed projects of any other applicable laws,
rules, or regulations, relating to GHG emissions or emissions
reductions.
(2) 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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no
yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:
(a) In 2006, the Legislature passed, and the Governor signed,
Assembly Bill 32 (AB 32) (Chapter 488 of the Statutes of 2006), which
requires the state to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990
levels by 2020. According to the State Air Resources Board (ARB),
this will require the state to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by
approximately 30 percent.
(b) In Massachusetts v. E.P.A. (2007) 549 U.S. 497, the United
States Supreme Court found that greenhouse gases are air pollutants
under the federal Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 7401 et seq.) that
have effects on the health and welfare of the public.
(c) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Division 13
(commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code)
requires public agencies to review the potentially significant
environmental effects of proposed projects, including the effects of
greenhouse gas emissions, and, if those effects may be significant,
to consider feasible alternatives or mitigation measures that would
substantially reduce significant adverse environmental effects.
(d) In 2007, the Legislature passed, and the Governor signed,
Senate Bill 97 (Chapter 185 of the Statutes of 2007), which directed
the Office of Planning and Research to submit to the Natural
Resources Agency guidelines for the analysis and mitigation of
greenhouse gas emissions pursuant to CEQA. In 2009, the Natural
Resources Agency adopted amendments to the CEQA guidelines for the
analysis and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions that did not
include a threshold of significance for greenhouse gas emissions.
(e) The absence of a statewide framework for determining
thresholds of significance for greenhouse gas emissions has led to
uncertainty as to the appropriate significance thresholds for
greenhouse gas emissions for projects being evaluated under CEQA.
This uncertainty leads to confusion and compromises the state's
efforts to achieve the goals of AB 32 and to restore and maintain a
sound and vibrant economy.
(f) To achieve the goals of AB 32, California should enact a
uniform approach determining thresholds of significance for
greenhouse gas emissions under CEQA, consistent with AB 32
requirements for the state to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by
30 percent by 2020.
(g) The adoption of a statewide framework for determining
thresholds of significance for greenhouse gas emissions should be
updated regularly as ARB moves forward with the implementation of AB
32.
SEC. 2. Section 21082.3 is added to the
Public Resources Code , to read:
21082.3. (a) In determining whether a project may a have a
significant effect on the environment relating to the greenhouse gas
emissions associated with that project, the lead agency shall apply
the following criteria:
(1) A project that is exempt from this division pursuant to any
statute or any guidelines adopted pursuant to Section 21084 shall be
exempt from this division notwithstanding any greenhouse gas
emissions associated with the project, and no analysis of the project'
s greenhouse gas emissions is required.
(2) A project that is not covered by paragraph (1), but that
complies with applicable provisions of a local, regional, or
statewide greenhouse gas emissions reduction plan or all applicable
regulations issued thereunder shall be deemed to have a less than
significant effect on the environment relating to greenhouse gas
emissions for purposes of this division. In order to qualify under
this paragraph, the plan or applicable regulations shall be specified
in law or have been adopted by a public agency in compliance with
this division. The negative declaration, mitigated negative
declaration, environmental impact report, or other environmental
document approved for a project covered by this paragraph shall
include a brief statement explaining the project's compliance with
the plan or applicable regulations, but is not required to quantify
project-specific greenhouse gas emissions unless that quantification
is necessary to demonstrate compliance with the identified plan or
regulations.
(3) A project that is not covered by paragraph (1) or (2), but
that adopts best performance standards for greenhouse gas reductions
shall be deemed to have a less than significant effect on the
environment relating to greenhouse gas emissions, if those best
performance standards have been adopted by a public agency. For
purposes of this section, "best performance standards" are feasible
means that are achieved in practice for reducing or limiting
greenhouse gas emissions, including, but not limited to, standards
concerning equipment type and design, and operational and maintenance
practices.
(4) A project that is not covered by paragraph (1), (2), or (3),
but that reduces project-specific greenhouse gas emissions by 30
percent from business-as-usual shall be deemed to have a less than
significant effect on the environment relating to greenhouse gas
emissions, or to have mitigated the environmental effects of
greenhouse gas emissions to a less than significant level. For
purposes of this section, "business-as-usual" is the three year
average emissions inventory per sector established by the State Air
Resources Board for purposes of calculating emissions reduction
targets pursuant to the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006
(Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and
Safety Code), as that emissions inventory may be updated from time to
time by the State Air Resources Board. The negative declaration,
mitigated negative declaration, environmental impact report, or other
environmental document approved for a project covered by this
paragraph shall comply with applicable provisions of the guidelines
adopted pursuant to Section 21083.05. The project's environmental
analysis shall explain how applicable mitigation measures or
emissions reduction measures, including where appropriate the
application of reduction measures adopted or specified by the State
Air Resources Board or other local, regional, or state agencies,
provide the required reduction of emissions that would otherwise be
associated with the proposed project.
(b) This section is intended to specify standards for determining
the significance of project environmental effects relating to
greenhouse gas emissions under this division. This section does not
limit the application to proposed projects of any other applicable
laws, rules, or regulations relating to greenhouse gas emissions or
emissions reductions or the authority of a local, state, or federal
agency to directly regulate greenhouse gas emissions under other
statutory authority.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because a local agency or school district has the
authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to
pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within
the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.
SECTION 1. Section 21082.3 is added to the
Public Resources Code, to read:
21082.3. It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation
regarding the determination of significant effects resulting from
greenhouse gas emissions.