California Environmental Quality Act: coal shipments: mitigation.

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. This bill would prohibit a lead agency from adopting a negative declaration or a mitigated negative declaration or certifying an EIR for a project affecting the shipment of commodity through a port facility that is receiving state funds from the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund unless the lead agency either prohibits coal shipment through the port facility or requires full and complete mitigation of the emissions of greenhouse gases resulting from the combustion of coal shipped through the port facility, as determined by the State Air Resources Board. The bill would, to the extent an EIR has been certified, or a negative declaration or mitigated negative declaration has been adopted, for those projects, require the lead agency to conduct a supplemental or subsequent environmental review to comply with the above requirements. Because a local agency would be required to implement these requirements, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.