California Environmental Quality Act
In 1970, the year of the first “Earth Day,” Governor Reagan signed the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). CEQA is one of the state’s most important environmental laws. The Act establishes state policy to “create and maintain conditions under which man and nature can exist in productive harmony to fulfill the social and economic requirements of present and future generations.”
CEQA requires that state and local agencies disclose and evaluate the significant environmental impacts of proposed projects and adopt all feasible measures to mitigate those impacts.
The Attorney General has a special role in overseeing and enforcing CEQA. By law, the Attorney General receives a copy of every complaint filed under the statute, in order to determine whether to intervene in the case Moreover, the Attorney General has, since the statute’s beginnings, filed public comments alerting agencies to potential violations of CEQA.
In recent years, the Attorney General’s comment letters have emphasized the need to address greenhouse gas emissions and to consider mitigation measures to reduce or eliminate these emissions – measures which may include energy efficiency, water efficiency, and renewable energy. The Attorney General’s comments have also noted the importance of addressing climate change and sustainability at the programmatic or “big picture” level. For local governments, general plan updates provide many opportunities to tackle greenhouse gas emissions that may be harder to reach through project-by-project review. If cities and counties adequately address greenhouse gas emissions at the city and county level, then future projects can benefit from streamlined CEQA review. See CEQA Guidelines, § 15183.5. For more information, visit our CEQA - Local Government Resources page.
It is unusual for the Attorney General to file suit under CEQA, but it is sometimes necessary in certain environmentally important or precedent-setting matters. These cases are usually resolved through settlement agreements without the need for extensive litigation.
Since CEQA’s inception, the Attorney General also has played a prominent role in the development CEQA law by submitting “friend of the court” briefs in significant appellate cases.