CEQA Portal

Topic Papers  |  Case Law Database  |  Return to AEP

Important Legal Disclaimer

The information provided as part of the AEP CEQA Portal is not intended as legal advice. The information contained herein is being provided as a public service and has been obtained from sources believed reliable. However, its completeness cannot be guaranteed. Further, additional facts or future developments may affect subjects contained herein. Seek the advice of an attorney before acting or relying upon any information provided herein.

These Terms and Conditions of Use apply to you when you view, access or otherwise use the CEQA Portal Website located at www.ceqaportal.org (the "CEQA Portal"). The CEQA Portal is owned by the Association of Environmental Professionals ("AEP"). We grant you a nonexclusive, nontransferable, limited right to access, use and display the CEQA Portal and the materials provided hereon, provided that you comply fully with these Terms and Conditions of Use.

Copyright Notice. All materials published on or used on the CEQA Portal are protected by copyright, and are owned or controlled by or licensed to AEP, or the party listed as the provider of the materials. UNAUTHORIZED COPYING, REPRODUCTION, REPUBLISHING, UPLOADING, POSTING, TRANSMITTING OR DUPLICATING OF ANY OF THE MATERIAL IS PROHIBITED. You may download any downloadable materials displayed on the CEQA Portal only for personal, noncommercial and informational purposes, provided that the documents are not modified and provided you maintain and abide by all copyright, trademark and other notices contained in such material or if none, you include the following copyright notice in such downloaded materials:

© Copyright 2016 Association of Environmental Professionals. All rights reserved. All use subject to Terms and Conditions of Use set forth here.

CEQA Portal Expert Contributors

Oversight Committee
Patrick Angell, Ascent Environmental

Mark Teague, PlaceWorks

John Bellas, Michael Baker International

Brooke Miller, San Diego County

Brian Smith, AECOM

Emily Creel, SCWA

Emily Bacchini, Sacramento Municipal Utility District (past member)
Alisha Winterswyk, Best Best & Krieger (past member)
Marie Campell, Saphos Environmental Inc. (past member)
David Wolff, The Sage Institute (past member
Craig Stevens, Stevens Consulting (past member)

Topic Papers

Authors
Craig Stevens, Stevens Consulting
Kent Norton - LSA Associates
Urszula Chrobak - LSA Associates
Lynn Calvert-Hayes - LSA Associates
Ray Hussey - LSA Associates
Michael Ng - California Coastal Commission (formerly at Mitchell Chadwick)
Nisha Chauhan - Nisha Chauhan Environmental Planning
Emily Bacchini - Sacramento Municipal Utility District
Antero Rivasplata - ICF International

Reviewers

Jennifer Lynch - Best Best & Krieger LLP
Kristen Castaños - Stoel Rives LLC
Stuart Flashman - Law Offices of Stuart Flashman
Ron Bass - ICF International
Al Herson - The Sohagi Law Group, PLC
Sabrina Teller, Remy Moose Manley, LLP
Kate Hart - Richland Communities
Charles Cohen - Cohen Begun & Deck, LLP
William Abbott - Abbott & Kindermann
Michael Zischke - Cox Castle Nicholson
Ellison Folk - Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP
Tina Thomas - Thomas Law Group
Todd Smith - Thomas Law Group
Ashle Crocker - Thomas Law Group
Arthur Coon - Miller Starr Regalia
Kate Wheatley - Taylor & Wiley
Kelley Taber - Somach Simmons & Dunn
Demar Hooper - Law Offices of B. Demar Hooper
 

CEQA Case Law Database

Patrick Angell - Ascent Environmental
Art Coon - Miller Starr Regalia
Micah Green - McGeorge School of Law
Sean Creadick - McGeorge School of Law
Nicolai Haerri - Whittier Law School
Brittani Skelton - Whittier Law School
Emily Bacchini - Sacramento Municipal Utility District

Alexandra Angell, UC Davis

Website

Logo and Design - Susan Webb - sbw design
Programming - Chris Giminez - Cyber Scriber Website Design

What's New

Updated and New CEQA Topic Papers
2/23/2020

Important Legal Disclaimer

The information provided as part of the AEP CEQA Portal is not intended as legal advice. The information contained herein is being provided as a public service and has been obtained from sources believed reliable. However, its completeness cannot be guaranteed. Further, additional facts or future developments may affect subjects contained herein. Seek the advice of an attorney before acting or relying upon any information provided herein.

These Terms and Conditions of Use apply to you when you view, access or otherwise use the CEQA Portal Website located at www.ceqaportal.org (the "CEQA Portal"). The CEQA Portal is owned by the Association of Environmental Professionals ("AEP"). We grant you a nonexclusive, nontransferable, limited right to access, use and display the CEQA Portal and the materials provided hereon, provided that you comply fully with these Terms and Conditions of Use.

Copyright Notice. All materials published on or used on the CEQA Portal are protected by copyright, and are owned or controlled by or licensed to AEP, or the party listed as the provider of the materials. UNAUTHORIZED COPYING, REPRODUCTION, REPUBLISHING, UPLOADING, POSTING, TRANSMITTING OR DUPLICATING OF ANY OF THE MATERIAL IS PROHIBITED. You may download any downloadable materials displayed on the CEQA Portal only for personal, noncommercial and informational purposes, provided that the documents are not modified and provided you maintain and abide by all copyright, trademark and other notices contained in such material or if none, you include the following copyright notice in such downloaded materials:

© Copyright 2016 Association of Environmental Professionals. All rights reserved. All use subject to Terms and Conditions of Use set forth here.

CEQA Portal Expert Contributors

Oversight Committee
Patrick Angell, Ascent Environmental

Mark Teague, PlaceWorks

John Bellas, Michael Baker International

Brooke Miller, San Diego County

Brian Smith, AECOM

Emily Creel, SCWA

Emily Bacchini, Sacramento Municipal Utility District (past member)
Alisha Winterswyk, Best Best & Krieger (past member)
Marie Campell, Saphos Environmental Inc. (past member)
David Wolff, The Sage Institute (past member
Craig Stevens, Stevens Consulting (past member)

Topic Papers

Authors
Craig Stevens, Stevens Consulting
Kent Norton - LSA Associates
Urszula Chrobak - LSA Associates
Lynn Calvert-Hayes - LSA Associates
Ray Hussey - LSA Associates
Michael Ng - California Coastal Commission (formerly at Mitchell Chadwick)
Nisha Chauhan - Nisha Chauhan Environmental Planning
Emily Bacchini - Sacramento Municipal Utility District
Antero Rivasplata - ICF International

Reviewers

Jennifer Lynch - Best Best & Krieger LLP
Kristen Castaños - Stoel Rives LLC
Stuart Flashman - Law Offices of Stuart Flashman
Ron Bass - ICF International
Al Herson - The Sohagi Law Group, PLC
Sabrina Teller, Remy Moose Manley, LLP
Kate Hart - Richland Communities
Charles Cohen - Cohen Begun & Deck, LLP
William Abbott - Abbott & Kindermann
Michael Zischke - Cox Castle Nicholson
Ellison Folk - Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP
Tina Thomas - Thomas Law Group
Todd Smith - Thomas Law Group
Ashle Crocker - Thomas Law Group
Arthur Coon - Miller Starr Regalia
Kate Wheatley - Taylor & Wiley
Kelley Taber - Somach Simmons & Dunn
Demar Hooper - Law Offices of B. Demar Hooper
 

CEQA Case Law Database

Patrick Angell - Ascent Environmental
Art Coon - Miller Starr Regalia
Micah Green - McGeorge School of Law
Sean Creadick - McGeorge School of Law
Nicolai Haerri - Whittier Law School
Brittani Skelton - Whittier Law School
Emily Bacchini - Sacramento Municipal Utility District

Alexandra Angell, UC Davis

Website

Logo and Design - Susan Webb - sbw design
Programming - Chris Giminez - Cyber Scriber Website Design

What's New

Updated and New CEQA Topic Papers
2/23/2020

 

Welcome to the CEQA Portal

This web site was developed by the Association of Environmental Professionals to provide a set of tools for anyone interested in learning about the California Environmental Quality Act. It is intended for CEQA practitioners, attorneys, elected and appointed officials, students, and citizens, to: aid in understanding the goals of CEQA, its process and content requirements, and how to prepare CEQA documents.

Read more...

Ultimately, we hope to expand the number of tools in the CEQA Portal toolbox, but as a start (Phase I) we are providing these two:

Topic Papers - A set of documents providing clear and organized explanations of a wide variety of CEQA-related topics. The Topic Papers are intended to provide clear answers to frequently asked questions about these topics. There are some aspects of CEQA about which clear guidance cannot yet be provided. Rather than attempting to resolve these issues, each Topic Papers summarizes these issues in a section titled "Areas of Controversy". Each Topic Paper has been reviewed by at least two attorneys specializing in the practice of CEQA.

Topic Papers will be updated periodically, as necessitated by changes in the law, changes to the State CEQA Guidelines, or new precedents resulting from court decisions. At present, five Topic Papers are posted; others will be posted as they are completed.

Case Law Database - Because the courts have continuing authority to decide issues related to CEQA compliance, the requirements of CEQA are constantly subject to change. The Case Law Database allows users to:

  • Select a CEQA Topic or enter a key word and receive a listing of all CEQA cases applicable to that topic or containing that keyword;
  • Filter results by Court of Jurisdiction or date range; and
  • Sort results chronologically, by court, or by case name.

In the future, we will be adding AEP-prepared summaries for many cases, summaries prepared by law firms, court documents, and perhaps the CEQA documents at issue for each case.

The CEQA Portal is being provided free-of-charge at present. However, in order to ensure that sufficient funds are available to keep the content current, and to expand the tools available, a charge will be required in the future to access the CEQA Portal.

CEQA Topic Papers

CEQA Topic Papers

A series of papers providing authoritative and detailed guidance on various CEQA Topics, prepared by professionals, and reviewed by attorneys.

CEQA Case Database

Case Law Database

A database of published CEQA cases, searchable by CEQA topic, court of jurisdiction, or date range.