Bill Text: CA AB1846 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 1846 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Environment: expedited environmental review: climate

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-1)

Status: (Passed) 2010-08-27 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 195, Statutes of 2010. [AB1846 Detail]

Download: California-2009-AB1846-Amended.html

BILL NUMBER: AB 1846	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 14, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 5, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member V. Manuel Perez
    (   Coauthors:   Assembly Members 
 Blakeslee,   Chesbro,   Hill,  
Huffman,   and Skinner   ) 

                        FEBRUARY 12, 2010

   An act to amend Sections 21159  and 21159.1  
, 21159.1, and 21159.4  of the Public Resources Code, relating
to the environment.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1846, as amended, V. Manuel Perez. Environment: expedited
environmental review: climate change regulations.
   The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead
agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify
the completion of, an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project
that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant
effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it
finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires
a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a
project that may have a significant effect on the environment if
revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and
there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would
have a significant effect on the environment.
   CEQA requires specified state agencies to perform, at the time of
adoption of a rule or regulation requiring the installation of
pollution control equipment  or a performance standard or
treatment requirement  , an environmental analysis of the
reasonably foreseeable methods of compliance. CEQA authorizes the use
of a focused environmental impact report for a project that 
is   consists  solely of the installation of
pollution control equipment required by the specified state agencies.

   This bill would additionally require that the above environmental
analysis be performed for a rule or regulation that requires the
installation of pollution control equipment or a performance standard
or treatment requirement adopted pursuant to the California Global
Warming Solutions Act of 2006  , including those for rules and
regulations   adopted by the California Energy Commission
and the California Public Utilities Commission  . The bill would
authorize the use of the focused environmental impact report for a
project that reduces greenhouse gas emissions in compliance with a
rule or regulation adopted pursuant to the California Global Warming
Solutions Act of 2006.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this
measure to conform and clarify existing law. This measure is not
intended to supersede existing law.
  SEC. 2.  Section 21159 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   21159.  (a) An agency listed in Section 21159.4 shall perform, at
the time of the adoption of a rule or regulation requiring the
installation of pollution control equipment, or a performance
standard or treatment requirement, including a rule or regulation
that requires the installation of pollution control equipment or a
performance standard or treatment requirement pursuant to the
California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5
(commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code), an
environmental analysis of the reasonably foreseeable methods of
compliance. In the preparation of this analysis, the agency may
utilize numerical ranges or averages where specific data is not
available; however, the agency shall not be required to engage in
speculation or conjecture. The environmental analysis shall, at
minimum, include all of the following:
   (1) An analysis of the reasonably foreseeable environmental
impacts of the methods of compliance.
   (2) An analysis of reasonably foreseeable feasible mitigation
measures.
   (3) An analysis of reasonably foreseeable alternative means of
compliance with the rule or regulation.
   (4) For a rule or regulation adopted pursuant to the California
Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with
Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code), the analysis shall
also include reasonably foreseeable greenhouse gas emission impacts
of the methods of compliance identified as required by this section.
   (b) The preparation of an environmental impact report at the time
of adopting a rule or regulation pursuant to this division shall be
deemed to satisfy the requirements of this section.
   (c) The environmental analysis shall take into account a
reasonable range of environmental, economic, and technical factors,
population and geographic areas, and specific sites.
   (d) This section does not require the agency to conduct a
project-level analysis.
   (e) For purposes of this article, the term "performance standard"
includes process or raw material changes or product reformulation.
   (f) This section is not intended, and may not be used, to delay
the adoption of any rule or regulation for which an analysis is
required to be performed pursuant to this section.
  SEC. 3.  Section 21159.1 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   21159.1.  (a) A focused environmental impact report may be
utilized if a project meets all of the following requirements:
   (1) The project, including a project that reduces greenhouse gases
to comply with a rule or regulation adopted pursuant to the
California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5
(commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code),
consists solely of the installation of pollution control equipment
required by a rule or regulation of an agency listed in Section
21159.4 and other components necessary to complete the installation
of that equipment.
   (2) The agency certified an environmental impact report on the
rule or regulation or reviewed it pursuant to a certified regulatory
program, and, in either case, the review included an assessment of
growth inducing impacts and cumulative impacts of, and alternatives
to, the project.
   (3) The environmental review required by paragraph (2) was
completed within five years of certification of the focused
environmental impact report.
   (4) An environmental impact report is not required pursuant to
Section 21166.
   (b) The discussion of significant effects on the environment in
the focused environmental impact report shall be limited to
project-specific potentially significant effects on the environment
of the project that were not discussed in the environmental analysis
of the rule or regulation required pursuant to subdivision (a) of
Section 21159. A discussion of growth-inducing impacts or cumulative
impacts shall not be required in the focused environmental impact
report, and the discussion of alternatives shall be limited to a
discussion of alternative means of compliance, if any, with the rule
or regulation.
   SEC. 4.    Section 21159.4 of the   Public
Resources Code   is amended to read: 
   21159.4.   (a)    This article shall apply to
 all of  the following agencies:  the 
    (1)     The  State Air Resources Board
 , any   . 
    (2)     A  district as defined in
Section 39025 of the Health and Safety Code  , the 
 . 
    (3)     The  State Water Resources
Control Board  , a   . 
    (4)     The  California regional water
quality control board  , the   . 
    (5)     The  Department of Toxic
Substances Control  , and the California Integrated Waste
Management Board  . 
   (6) The Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery.  

   (b) This article shall apply to the California Energy Commission
and the California Public Utilities Commission for rules and
regulations adopted pursuant to the California Global Warming
Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500)
of the Health and Safety Code).