Bill Text: CA AB2720 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: California Environmental Quality Act: negative declarations and mitigated negative declarations: groundwater recharge projects.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-12 - Referred to Com. on NAT. RES. [AB2720 Detail]
Download: California-2019-AB2720-Introduced.html
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 2720
| Introduced by Assembly Member Salas |
February 20, 2020 |
An act to add Section 21082.5 to the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental quality.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2720, as introduced, Salas.
California Environmental Quality Act: negative declarations and mitigated negative declarations: groundwater recharge projects.
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 the agency proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if the agency finds that the project will not have that effect.
CEQA requires a lead agency to prepare a negative declaration if there is no substantial evidence in the administrative record that a project would have a significant environmental impact or a mitigated negative declaration if the project’s environmental impacts may be avoided through a revision of the project so that there is no substantial evidence in the administrative record that the revised project would have a significant environmental impact.
This bill would require the lead agency, for a groundwater recharge project on agricultural land fallowed as a result of management actions required by a groundwater sustainability plan, to prepare a negative declaration or a mitigated negative declaration if there is substantial evidence in the record that a project or a revised project would not have a significant environmental impact. Because a lead agency would be required to determine whether there is substantial evidence in the record that a project would not have a significant environmental impact, 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.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 21082.5 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:21082.5.
Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 21080, for a groundwater recharge project on agricultural land fallowed as a result of management actions required by a groundwater sustainability plan adopted in accordance with Section 10728.6 of the Water Code, the lead agency shall adopt a negative declaration in either of the following circumstances:(a) There is substantial evidence in light of the whole record before the lead agency that the project would not have a significant effect on the environment.
(b) An initial study identifies potentially significant effects on the environment, but (1) revisions in the project plans or proposals made by, or agreed to by, the applicant before the proposed
negative declaration and initial study are released for public review would avoid the effects or mitigate the effects to a point where clearly no significant effect on the environment would occur, and (2) there is substantial evidence, in light of the whole record before the lead agency, that the project, as revised, would not have a significant effect on the environment.
