Environmental Review Significance Environmental review is an important element of any major infrastructure project. Palo Alto residents are encouraged to engage in the environmental review process because it is their voice that will help shape what actions the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) takes to make sure the environmental surroundings of Palo Alto remain undamaged. The environmental review process doesn’t mean there will be no environmental impacts but requires that those enviormental impacts be mitigated by the CHSRA. Overview All projects in California, both pubic and private, must go through environmental review to gain approval. The state law governing the environmental review process is called the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the federal law governing the environmental review process is called the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

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CEQA “requires state and local agencies to identify the significant environmental impacts of their actions and to avoid or mitigate those impacts, if feasible.”

CEQA and NEPA have been around for about 40 years and have a body of case law defining their implementation. Over time, CEQA and NEPA have gone from being part of the overall approval process to really defining the process.

Environmental Review Documents

The first step in the environmental review process is deciding whether a full-fledged environmental review is warranted by the potential impacts of a project. If so, as in the case of HSR, then a set of very specific documents called an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) under CEQA and an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) under NEPA must be prepared.

Document Name	Jurisdiction	Environmental Agency
Environmental Impact Report (EIR)	State of California	CEQA
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)	Federal	NEPA

   

In the case of the EIR/EIS documents related to HSR it has been decided the process called Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS) will be applied allowing for even further public input and examination.

EIR & EIS Tiering

For this project the CHSRA has used a provision in both CEQA and NEPA called “tiering.” Tiering allows a project sponsor, in this case the CHSRA, to do a high-level review called a program level EIR/EIS followed by a more detailed review called a project level EIR/EIS.

Program Level EIR & EIS – The program level EIR/EIS covers generic aspects of the project and then uses those findings as a guide for the project level EIR/EIS.

Project Level EIR & EIS – The project level EIR/EIS is a step within the program level EIR/EIS and has to address in detail all environmental impacts of the project.

EIR & EIS Involved Agencies

Multiple agencies are involved win the EIR/EIS process. However, there are five main parties in the process: the applicant, the consultants, the courts, the lead agency, and the public.

Applicant – The applicant is the government entity or private company that wants to do a project. The applicant is the CHSRA.

Consultants - The consultants typically do the work of writing and assembling the EIR/EIS documents. The main consulting firm representing the CHSRA and working on the EIR/EIS is Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB).

Courts - The courts resolve any disputes concerning the EIR/EIS in the event of a lawsuit.

Lead Agency – The lead agency is the main project approver who gets to certify the EIR/EIS. The lead agency is the CHSRA and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).

Public – The public's role is to provide comments on the EIR/EIS about anything they think should be addressed in the EIR/EIS. Under CEQA the public is explicitly charged with making sure that the laws governing the EIR/EIS are followed.