California Environmental Quality Act: local water projects: scoping meetings.

The California Environmental Quality Act requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report 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. The act 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. The act requires the lead agency to call at least one scoping meeting for transportation-related projects and projects of statewide, regional, or areawide significance. This bill would require a lead agency to call at least one scoping meeting to receive public comments for local projects for stormwater or dry weather runoff capture and reuse, water recycling, or wastewater treatment to improve water quality. Because a local lead agency would be required to conduct at least one scoping meeting, 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.