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1.2 ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS In accordance with the requirements of CEQA and the CEQA Guidelines, a Notice of Preparation ("NOP' of a Draft Environmental Impact Report ("Draft EIR" or "DEIR'� was filed with the State Clearinghouse ("SCH'� Office of Planning and Research ("OPR') on August 4, 2010 and distributed for public and agency review. A scoping meeting was held on August 25, 2010. Comments received on the NOP and a summary of scoping meeting comments were included in Appendix A of the Draft EIR. On September 21,2011,the San Joaquin County Department of Community Development ("Lead Agency") released for public review a Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Union Pacific Expansion and Modernization Project (State Clearinghouse [SCH]# 2010082016). The required 45-day public review and comment period on the Draft EIR began on September 21, 2011 and closed at 5:00 p.m on November 7, 2011. During this public review period, the County received written comments on the Draft EIR. Section 15088 of the CEQA Guidelines requires that the lead agency responsible for the preparation of an FIR evaluate comments on environmental issues received from parties who reviewed the Draft FIR and prepare a written response addressing each of the comments. A Final Environmental Impact Report ("Final EIR" or "FEIR'�was prepared for the project,which assembles in one document all of the environmental information and analysis prepared for the project, including comments on the information and analysis contained in the Draft EIR and responses by the County to those comments. Pursuant to Section 15132 of the CEQA Guidelines,the Final EIR consists of the following. (a)The Draft EIR,including all of its appendices. (b) A list of persons,organizations,and public agencies commenting on the Draft EIR. (c) Copies of all letters received by the County during the Draft EIR public review period and responses to significant environmental points concerning the Draft EIR raised in the review and consultation process. (d) Revisions to the Draft EIR. (e) Any other information added by the lead agency. 2.0 CEQA FINDING OF INDEPENDENT JUDGMENT The County is the lead agency with respect to the Union Pacific Expansion and Modernization Project pursuant to Section 15367 of the CEQA Guidelines. As noted above, Section 15091 of the CEQA Guidelines requires that the lead agency prepare written findings for identified significant impacts, accompanied by a brief explanation for the rationale for each finding.The Final EIR for the project identified potentially significant effects that could result from project implementation. However, the County fords that the inclusion of certain mitigation measures as part of the project approval will reduce most, but not all, of those effects to less than significant levels. Those impacts that are not reduced to less than significant levels are overridden due to specific project benefits identified in a Statement of Overriding Considerations provided below in Section 7.0. In accordance with CEQA and the CEQA Guidelines, the County adopts these findings as part of its approval of the project Pursuant to Section 21082.1(c)(3) of the Public Resources Code, the County also fords that the Final EIR reflects the County's independent judgment as the lead agency for the project. November 2012 3 Findings of Fact/ Statement of Overriding Considerations