California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)

Extracted Attributes

• Type

  California Statute

• Acronym

  CEQA

• Purpose

  Institute a statewide policy of environmental protection; analyze and disclose environmental impacts of proposed projects; adopt feasible mitigation measures.

• Criticism

  Abused for non-environmental reasons, contributes to housing shortage, used to block/delay projects (including environmentally positive ones), used by NIMBYs, businesses (to block competition), and unions (to force union labor), hinders fire prevention and insurance coverage.

• Key Feature

  Mandates environmental impact analysis and public disclosure for proposed projects.

• Initial Scope

  State and local agencies' projects

• Official Name

  California Environmental Quality Act

• Enactment Date

  1970-09-18

• Litigation Impact

  Can significantly delay or halt projects by imposing delays and litigation costs.

• Distinction from NEPA

  CEQA is both procedural and substantive, unlike NEPA which is purely procedural.

• Broadened Scope (post-1972)

  Any development requiring government approval, including private projects.

• Lawsuit Filers (Study Finding)

  85% of lawsuits filed by organizations with no record of environmental advocacy.

• Lawsuit Targets (Study Finding)

  80% of lawsuits targeted infill development.

Timeline

• The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is passed and signed into law by Governor Ronald Reagan, establishing a statewide policy of environmental protection. (Source: Wikipedia; Web Search)

  1970-09-18

• The California Supreme Court broadens CEQA's interpretation, applying it to any development requiring government approval, significantly expanding its scope beyond just public projects. (Source: Summary; Wikipedia)

  1972

• Beginning in 1983, successive California governors, including George Deukmejian, Pete Wilson, Gray Davis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jerry Brown, and Gavin Newsom, consistently call for CEQA reform. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1983

• Bipartisan legislation is passed to exempt certain types of developments, including housing in dense areas, from CEQA environmental review. (Source: Summary; Wikipedia)

  2025

California Environmental Quality Act

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA ) is a California statute passed in 1970 and signed in to law by then-governor Ronald Reagan, shortly after the United States federal government passed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), to institute a statewide policy of environmental protection. CEQA does not directly regulate land uses, but instead requires state and local agencies within California to follow a protocol of analysis and public disclosure of environmental impacts of proposed projects and, in a departure from NEPA, adopt all feasible measures to mitigate those impacts. CEQA makes environmental protection a mandatory part of every California state and local (public) agency's decision making process. In 1972, the California Supreme Court broadened CEQA by interpreting a "public" project as any development that needed government approval. Since then, CEQA has become the basis for anyone with a grievance against a project to file lawsuits to slow projects by years or kill projects by imposing delays and litigation costs that make projects infeasible. CEQA has contributed to the California housing shortage. It has been criticized for being abused (used for reasons other than environmental ones) to block, downsize, delay, or gain other concessions from new development. CEQA has even been used to block or delay projects that have positive environmental impacts, such as solar plants, wind turbines, bike lanes on pre-existing roads, and denser housing. One study found that 85% of CEQA lawsuits were filed by organizations with no record of environmental advocacy and 80% of CEQA lawsuits targeted infill development. CEQA has also been used by NIMBYs to block homeless shelters, student housing and affordable housing projects, by businesses to try to block competition, and by unions to force developers to use union workers. All governors since 1983 (George Deukmejian, Pete Wilson, Gray Davis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Jerry Brown), as well as current governor Gavin Newsom, have stated that CEQA needs to be reformed. In 2025, the state legislature passed two bills, with bipartisan support, that exempted from CEQA environmental review various types of developments, including housing in dense areas.

Web Search Results

• California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)

  California Public Utilities Commission # California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) regulates services and utilities, projects consumers, safeguards the environment, and assures Californians’ access to safe and reliable utility infrastructure and services. The essential services regulated include electric, natural gas, telecommunications, water, railroad, rail transit, and passenger transportation companies. [...] CEQA generally requires state and local government agencies, including the CPUC, to inform decision-makers and the public about the potential environmental impacts of a proposed project and to prevent and minimize damage to the environment. reduce those environmental impacts to the extent feasible. The CPUC conducts environmental reviews pursuant to CEQA, where the CPUC is a lead or responsible agency, and as further specified by the CPUC's CEQA-related rules. The laws and rules governing the [...] 21-Day Environmental Review

• CEQA Guidelines - Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation

  The CEQA Guidelines (Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3 of the California Code of Regulations) are administrative regulations governing implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act. The CEQA Guidelines reflect the requirements set forth in the Public Resources Code, as well as court decisions interpreting the statute and practical planning considerations. Among other things, the CEQA Guidelines explain how to determine whether an activity is subject to environmental review, what [...] Governor's Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation logo CEQA: Getting Started A helpful guide for anyone who is just getting started learning about or implementing CEQA State Clearinghouse Review of environmental documents prepared for CEQA California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Reducing the potential environmental impacts of proposed projects Federal Assistance Resources to help practitioners use and comply with CEQA General Plan Information [...] # CEQA Guidelines Information on the regulations implementing the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). ## What are the CEQA Guidelines?

• CEQA: The California Environmental Quality Act

  # CEQA: The California Environmental Quality Act Key resources for understanding and implementing the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). ## New to CEQA? CEQA requires public agencies to “look before they leap” and consider the environmental consequences of their discretionary actions. CEQA is intended to inform government decisionmakers and the public about the potential environmental effects of proposed activities and to prevent significant, avoidable environmental damage. [...] Governor's Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation logo CEQA: Getting Started A helpful guide for anyone who is just getting started learning about or implementing CEQA State Clearinghouse Review of environmental documents prepared for CEQA California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Reducing the potential environmental impacts of proposed projects Federal Assistance Resources to help practitioners use and comply with CEQA General Plan Information

• The Inequalities of California's Environmental Quality Act

  Lawmakers originally intended this law—the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)—to benefit people and the planet. But in the fifty years since California’s adoption of CEQA, its environmental review requirements may have also been used by non-environmental groups to fight sustainable and equitable development. Increasingly, some critics insist that reforms are needed to restore CEQA to its original intent. [...] CEQA’s passage in 1970 gained momentum from a national environmental movement that also birthed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and federal environmental laws. CEQA requires state and local agencies to analyze and publicly disclose the environmental impacts of proposed projects. Similar to its federal analog, the National Environmental Policy Act, CEQA also encourages project planners to adopt mitigation measures for such impacts. [...] In 1978, the California Supreme Court held that because CEQA affords “the fullest possible protection to the environment,” both private and government projects require impact assessments. If concerned individuals or organizations believe that the environmental review of a project under CEQA is deficient, they may sue the government agency responsible for leading the review process.

• CEQA: The Surprising Story of CA's Key Environmental Law

  California quickly followed the federal government’s lead, passing the state’s own Environmental Quality Act just nine months later. On Sept. 18, 1970, Gov. Ronald Reagan—like Nixon, a Republican—signed the law into existence. And like NEPA, CEQA required the state government as well as county and local governments to perform an environmental impact review for all projects that they planned to carry out. [...] California Local Logo # CEQA: The Surprising Story of the State’s Keystone Environmental Law For a decade before it was revised in June 2025, the 55-year-old California Environmental Quality Act was blamed for contributing to the state’s housing crisis. Does California’s signature environmental law protect the state’s scenic beauty, or cause more problems than it solves? [...] Though California’s law was modeled on the federal NEPA, there were significant differences. Perhaps the most important was that the NEPA was purely a procedural law. The CEQA was both procedural and substantive.