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Ms. Claudia Gemberling July 21, 2006 Page 6 of 6 CIWMB California Environmental Quality Act Review California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance is required for the establishment, expansion, or change in operation(s) of a Solid Waste Facility (SWF) requiring the issuance or revision of a full Solid Waste Facility Permit (SWFP). Under CEQA Guidelines, CCR Section 1.5096, the CIWMB acting as a Responsible Agency, is required to use the environmental document (ED) prepared by the Lead Agency in the CIWMB permit approval or concurrence process. Once the ED is completed by the Lead Agency, CIWMB staff, as a Responsible Agency, must determine whether or not the evaluation of potential environmental impacts assessed in the ED is adequate for CIWMB use in the permitting process. The purpose of CIWMB staff s review of an ED, during the preparation of the document, is to help decision -makers 1) identify potential impacts from proposed projects, 2) determine whether any such impacts are significant, and 3) ascertain whether significant impacts can be mitigated to a level of insignificance in compliance with the CEQA statutes and guidelines. In order for CIWMB staff to ascertain that the ED is adequate for our use in the permitting process, the proposed project must be described in sufficient detail and the potential environmental impacts that may result from the proposed project must be identified and evaluated clearly in the environmental assessment and offer "mitigating measures, if any, included in the project to avoid potentially significant effects" (CEQA Guidelines, Article 6, Section 15071 [e]). If the Lead Agency identifies a potential significant environmental impact but finds that the impact is less than significant or that no mitigation is available or necessary, supporting documentation and/or studies should be specifically referenced and be made available for review or included in the ED to support such analysis. CEQA Analysis and SWFP Conditions CEQA Guidelines (CCR) Section 15063(a)(1) states that: "All phases of project planning, implementation and operation must be considered in the Initial Study of the project." This consideration, when evaluating for a SWFP revision, should consider the potential environmental impacts of any changes in design and operation of the facility that were not specifically considered in the existing SWFP. When determining the adequacy of an ED for purposes of SWFP concurrence, CIWMB staff will compare the design and operation of the facility as described in the SWFP with the project as described and evaluated in the ED. The first question is: does the CEQA evaluation for potential impacts resulting from the project thoroughly assess the potential primary and secondary impacts to the environment and/or public health and safety? The second question is: does the CEQA evaluation in the ED support the conditions of the proposed permit? For instance, does the ED also assess the potential traffic, noise, dust, vector and other impacts that can be associated with a significant increase in permitted waste throughput requested in a SWFP? When this type of information is included and addressed in the ED, the CEQA process is greatly facilitated. When this type of information is not included in the project description or elsewhere in the ED, it becomes very difficult for CIWMB staff to determine the adequacy of the ED for purposes of our environmental evaluation. U:\Allstaff\CEQA\2006 DOCS\COUNTIES\San Joaquin-39\Comment Letters\2006062113 North County Recycling & SLF NOP.doc