Environmental quality: pipelines: project applicants.

(1) 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 exempts a project of less than one mile in length within a public street or highway or any other public right-of-way for the installation of a new pipeline, as defined, or the maintenance, repair, restoration, reconditioning, relocation, replacement, removal, or demolition of an existing pipeline. Existing law excludes from the definition of pipeline, for purposes of this exemption, certain surface facilities. This bill would, until January 1, 2018, revise that definition of pipeline to delete the exclusion of those surface facilities and to include surface accessories or appurtenances to a pipeline. The bill would require a resource agency, as defined, when determining the applicability of the exemption of pipelines from the act with regard to a natural gas pipeline safety enhancement activity, as defined, to consider only the length of pipeline that is within its legal jurisdiction. The bill would impose a state-mandated local program by imposing new duties upon local agencies with regard to the exemption of pipelines from the act and upon a local agency that is a resource agency regarding the applicability of the exemption regarding a natural gas pipeline safety enhancement activity. The bill would, until January 1, 2018, authorize a public agency to establish a process that would allow an applicant for a natural gas pipeline safety enhancement activity to elect to pay additional fees to be used by the public agency in determining whether to approve that activity by entering into a contract with one or more 3rd parties to assist the public agency to perform the analysis. (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. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.