Introduction to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Courses

This Introduction to the California Environmental Quality Act workshop provides an applied overview of the California Environmental Quality Act, with an emphasis on the process and technical requirements of environmental impact assessment. The course will begin with a brief background on environmental impact assessment in the U.S. and of CEQA's regulatory context, followed by an overview of various approaches used in scoping and preparing environmental impact assessments under CEQA. Students will examine the documents required under CEQA and the roles of key players involved. Students will also determine the adequacy of CEQA documents as they relate to environmental settings, impact assessment, mitigation development, significance thresholds, and data sources. Lastly, the course will include a discussion of the documents and processes for projects regulated by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).