BOARD MEETING DATE: May 5, 2006
AGENDA NO. 19

Lead Agency Projects and Environmental Documents Received by the AQMD

SYNOPSIS:

This report provides, for the Board’s consideration, a listing of CEQA documents received by the AQMD between December March 1, 200656, and December March 31, 200656, and those projects for which the AQMD is acting as lead agency pursuant to CEQA.

COMMITTEE: 

Mobile Source, January April 287, 2006

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

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 December March 1, 2006, through December March 31, 2006, 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 2002-03 approved by the 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 January 6, 2006 Board meeting, the the Governing Board approved the Workplan for the Chairman’s Clean Port Initiatives.  One of seven action items of the AQMD Board Chairman’s Clean Port 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, Attachments A and B have been reorganized and to grouped together in projects of interest into 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 December March 1, 20066, through December March 31, 20066, the AQMD received 6068 CEQA documents.  Of the total of 10599 documents listed in Attachments A and B:

• 215 comment letters were sent;
• 4543 documents were reviewed, but no comments were made;
• 327 documents are currently under review;
• 74 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 December March, the AQMD received no new requests to be the lead agency for a stationary source permit application project.  No CEQA documents for permit application projects were certified in March.  As noted in Attachment C, through the end of December March 20065, 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.  Through the end of 2005, eight of these CEQA documents have been certified.  Another project was deemed exempt from CEQA and the permit was issued in February 2005.

To date in 2006, AQMD staff has been responsible for preparing or having prepared CEQA documents for five stationary permit projects, four projects continuing from 2005 and one new project from 2006.  Through the end of March 2006, no CEQA documents have been certified.

Attachments (DOC 47.5K)
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