California Environmental Quality Act: exemption: stormwater facilities: routine maintenance.

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 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, if certain conditions are met, exempt from the provisions of CEQA the routine maintenance of public stormwater facilities that are fully concrete or that have a conveyance capacity of less than a 100-year storm event. The bill would, if the lead agency determines that a project is not subject to CEQA pursuant to these provisions and determines to approve or carry out the project, require the lead agency to file a notice with the State Clearinghouse in the Office of Planning and Research and with the county clerk in the county in which the project will be located, as provided, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. Because a lead agency would be required to determine whether a project qualifies for this exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2030. CEQA provides that, if a nonelected decisionmaking body of a local lead agency certifies an environmental impact report, approves a negative declaration or mitigated negative declaration, or determines that a project is not subject to CEQA, the certification, approval, or determination may be appealed to the agency's elected decisionmaking body. This bill would prohibit the appeal of determinations by nonelected decisionmaking bodies of cities with a population of at least 1,000,000 that those routine maintenance projects of certain public stormwater facilities are exempt from CEQA to the agency's elected decisionmaking body. This bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2030. 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.