California Code of Regulations
Title 14 - Natural Resources
Division 1 - Fish and Game Commission-Department of Fish and Game
Subdivision 3 - General Regulations
Chapter 4 - Procedural Regulations for Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act of 1970
Article 2 - Fish and Game as Lead Agency
Section 757 - Exempt Projects

Universal Citation: 14 CA Code of Regs 757

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024

Planning and feasibility studies, ministerial projects, and classes designated by the State EIR Guidelines as "Categorical exemptions" are considered exempt from the provisions of CEQA. It is further modified by the State EIR Guidelines to exclude emergencies (Section 15071), legislative proposals (Section 15037(b)(2)), continuing administrative or maintenance activities (Section 15037(b)(3)), and "where it can be seen with certainty that the activity in question will not have a significant effect on the environment" (Section 15060). In addition, these guidelines are not applicable to those Fish and Game Commission programs or activities that are exempted from CEQA through certification by the Secretary for Resources under the provisions of Section 21080.5 CEQA.

The lead unit shall determine which projects are exempt and shall prepare a Notice of Exemption. This notice shall be forwarded from the lead unit to ESB for review, and from there to the Director's office. If the exemption is approved, it shall then be forwarded and filed with the Resources Agency. The filing of a notice of exemption starts a 35 day statute of limitations period on legal challenges. A copy shall be filed in ESB files and a copy returned to the lead unit. If the exemption is not approved, the lead unit will be notified. Specific exemptions include:

(a) Feasibility and Planning Studies. Feasibility and planning studies are exempted by Section 21102 of CEQA. This section provides that funds shall not be requested or authorized for any project, other than a project involving only feasibility or planning studies for possible future actions not approved, adopted, or funded, which may have a significant effect on the environment, unless an impact report has been prepared. However, environmental factors are to be considered during such studies.

(b) Ministerial Projects. Ministerial projects are exempted from CEQA by Section 21080(b). Ministerial projects, as defined in the Section 15032 of the State EIR Guidelines, include those activities defined as projects which are undertaken or approved by a governmental decision which a public officer or public agency makes upon a given state of facts in a prescribed manner in obedience to the mandate of legal authority. The following activities of Fish and Game are hereby considered to be ministerial projects as authorized by Section 15192(b) of the State EIR Guidelines:

(1) Issuance of fishing and hunting licenses, stamps, and tags, falconry licenses, and trapping licenses;

(2) Actions concerning enforcement of the Fish and Game Code and other State laws;

(3) Licensing of pheasant clubs, commercial hunting clubs, and domesticated migratory waterfowl shooting areas;

(4) Issuance of the following permits: domesticated fish breeder's permit; fish transportation permit; suction dredge permit; fish importation permit; private fish stocking permit; depredation permit; explosives permit; scientific collecting permit; bird banding permit; migratory waterfowl feeding permit; permit to import and possess prohibited species of wild animals; permit for Indians to transport game off reservations; permit for Commission approval for taking of deer; permit to take or herd birds or mammals with the aid of vehicles or aircraft.

Other projects may be ministerial and the determination of this status shall be made by Fish and Game on a case-by-case basis, depending upon analysis of the laws relevant to the project.

(c) Categorical Exemptions. Categorical exemptions are those classes of projects which are exempted from the requirements of CEQA, through adoption by the Secretary for Resources (Public Resources Code Section 21084). These exemptions have been made upon a finding that the projects will have no significant effect on the environment. This finding has been made as stated in Section 15100 et seq. of the State EIR Guidelines. Classes concerning Fish and Game and particular projects to which they apply are as follows:

(1) Class 1: Existing Facilities. Class 1 consists of the operation, repair, or maintenance or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of use beyond that previously existing, including but not limited to:

(A) Interior or exterior alterations involving such things as interior partitions, plumbing, and electrical conveyances;

(B) Existing streets, sidewalks, gutters, bicycle and pedestrian trails, and similar facilities except where the activity will involve removal of a scenic resource including but not limited to a stand of trees, a rock outcropping, or an historic building;

(C) Restoration or rehabilitation of deteriorated or damaged structures, facilities or mechanical equipment to meet current standards of public health and safety, unless it is determined that the damage was substantial and resulted from an environmental hazard such as earthquake, landslide, or flood;

(D) Additions to existing structures provided that the addition will not result in an increase of more than 50 percent of the floor area of the structure before the addition or alteration, or 2,500 square feet, whichever is less; or, 10,000 square feet if the project is in an area where all public services and facilities are available to allow for maximum development permissible in the General Plan and, the area in which the project is located is not environmentally sensitive;

(E) Addition of safety or health protection devices for use during construction of or in conjunction with existing structures, facilities, or mechanical equipment, or topographical features (including navigational devices) where these devices do not have or result in an adverse environmental impact;

(F) New copy on existing on-and-off-premise signs;

(G) Maintenance of existing landscaping, native growth and water supply reservoirs (including the use of economic poisons, as defined in Division 7, Chapter 2, California Agriculture Code);

(H) Maintenance of fish screens, fish ladders, wildlife habitat areas, artificial wildlife watering devices, streamflows, springs and waterholes, and stream channels (clearing of debris) to protect fish and wildlife resources;

(I) Production and stocking of fish and wildlife but not including the introduction of new species;

(J) Demolition and removal of individual small structures listed in this subsection except where the structures are of historical, archaeological or architectural significance:

1. Single family residences not in conjunction with the demolition of two or more units;

2. Apartments and duplexes designed for not more than four dwelling units if not in conjunction with the demolition of two or more such structures;

3. Offices, if designed for an occupant load of 10 persons or less, if not in conjunction with the demolition of two or more such structures;

4. Accessory (appurtenant) structures including but not limited to garages, carports, roof structures, workshops, storage buildings, well houses, aerators, feed bins, fences, patios and public restroom facilities;

(K) Minor repairs and alterations to existing dams and appurtenant structures under the supervision of the Department of Water Resources.

(2) Class 2: Replacement or Reconstruction. Class 2 consists of replacement or reconstruction of existing structures and facilities where the new structure will be located on the same site as the structure replaced and will have substantially the same purpose and capacity as the structure replaced, including but not limited to:

(A) Fish hatcheries;

(B) Office buildings;

(D) Streamflow maintenance dams;

(E) Public restroom facilities;

(3) Class 3: New Construction of Small Structures. Class 3 consists of construction and location of single, new facilities or structures and installation of new equipment and facilities including but not limited to:

(A) Single family residences not in conjunction with the building of two or more such units.

(B) Offices and laboratories if designed for an occupant load of 20 persons or less if not in conjunction with the building of two or more such structures.

(C) Accessory (appurtenant) structures including garages, carports, public restroom facilities, workshops, storage buildings, feed bins, roof structures, aerators, and well houses.

(4) Class 4: Minor Alterations to Land. Class 4 consists of minor public or private alterations in the condition of land, water and/or vegetation which do not involve removal of mature, scenic trees except for forestry and agricultural purposes. Examples include but are not limited to:

(A) Grading on land with a slope of less than 10 percent or under one acre, except where it is to be located in a waterway, in any wetland, in an officially designated (by Federal, State, or local governmental action) scenic area, in officially mapped areas of severe geologic hazard, or, in the habitat of a rare or endangered species of fish or wildlife;

(B) New gardening or landscaping but not including tree removal;

(D) Minor alterations in land, water and vegetation on existing officially designated wildlife management areas or fish production facilities which result in improvement of habitat for fish and wildlife resources or greater fish production;

(E) Minor temporary uses of land having negligible or no permanent effects on the environment.

(5) Class 5: Alterations in Land Use Limitations. Class 5 consists of minor alterations in land use limitations in areas with less than a 20% slope, which do not result in any changes in land use or density, including but not limited to:

(A) Minor lot line adjustments, side yard and set back variances not resulting in the creation of any new parcel;

(B) Issuance of minor encroachment permits;

(6) Class 6: Information Collection. Class 6 consists of basic data collection, research, experimental management and resource evaluation activities which do not result in a serious or major disturbance to an environmental resource. These may be for strictly information gathering purposes, or as part of a study leading to an action which a public agency has not yet approved, adopted or funded, including but not limited to:

(A) Fish and wildlife life history studies, including collection or marking of animals and obtaining data on the vital statistics of fish and wildlife populations and their use by man;

(B) Measurement and monitoring of pesticides, heavy metals, thermal discharges, and other pollutants, including bioassays and testing of oil spill cleanup agents;

(D) Experimental introduction of exotic species, experimental fish and wildlife culture and stocking, and transplants of native and established species;

(E) Evaluation of the effects of fish and wildlife protection or enhancement facilities or measures (e.g. fish screens, vegetation removal from spawning areas, deer escape devices in canals);

(F) Research on fish and wildlife diseases and parasites;

(G) Studies of the impact of land and water use changes on fish and wildlife;

(H) Habitat inventory programs.

(7) Class 7: Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of Natural Resources. Class 7 consists of actions taken by regulatory agencies as authorized by state law or local ordinance to assure the maintenance, restoration, or enhancement of a natural resource where the regulatory process involves procedures for protection of the environment. Examples include but are not limited to wildlife preservation activities of the State Department of Fish and Game. Examples include but are not limited to:

(A) Actions to close areas to hunting and sport fishing;

(B) Approval of ecological reserves and wildlife management areas (but not acquisition or development);

(D) Vegetation development, manipulation, or fertilization to increase habitat productivity for fish and wildlife, including controlled burning;

(E) Botulism and other disease control measures;

(F) Development of springs and waterholes and artificial wildlife watering devices for fish and wildlife maintenance or enhancement purposes.

Construction activities are not included in this exemption.

(8) Class 8: Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of the Environment. Class 8 consists of actions taken by regulatory agencies as authorized by state or local ordinance, to assure the maintenance, restoration, enhancement or protection of the environment where the regulatory process involves procedures for protection of the environment. Construction activities are not included in this exemption.

(9) Class 9: Inspections. Class 9 consists of activities limited entirely to inspection, to check for performance of an operation, or quality, health or safety of a project, including:

(A) Related activities such as inspection for possible mis-labeling, mis-representation or adulteration of products;

(B) Live freshwater fish and marine shellfish importation inspection;

(D) Game bird farm inspections;

(E) Inspections of private and public zoological gardens.

(10) Class 10: Loans. Class 10 consists of loans made by the Department of Veterans Affairs under the Veterans Farm and Home Purchase Act of 1943, mortgages for the purchase of existing structures where the loan will not be used for new construction and the purchase of such mortgages by financial institutions.

(11) Class 11: Accessory Structures. Class 11 consists of construction, or placement of minor structures accessory to (appurtenant to) existing commercial, industrial, or institutional facilities, including but not limited to:

(A) On-premise signs;

(B) Small parking lots;

(C) Placement of seasonal or temporary use items such as portable restrooms, checking stations, or other facilities designed for public use.

(12) Class 12: Surplus Government Property Sales. Class 12 consists of sales of surplus government property except for parcels of land located in an area of statewide interest or potential area of critical concern as identified in the Governor's Environmental Goals Policy Report prepared pursuant to Government Code 65041 et seq. However, if the surplus property to be sold is located in those areas identified in the Governor's Environmental Goals and Policy Report, its sale is exempt if:

(A) The property does not have significant values for wildlife habitat or other environmental purposes; and,

(B) Any of the following conditions exist:

1. The property is of such size or shape that it is incapable of independent development or use, or

2. The property to be sold would qualify for an exemption under any other class of categorical exemption in Article 8 of these guidelines, or

3. The use of the property and adjacent property has not changed since the time of purchase by the public agency.

(13) Class 13: Acquisition of Lands for Wildlife Conservation Purposes. Class 13 consists of the acquisition of lands for fish and wildlife conservation purposes including preservation of fish and wildlife habitat, establishing ecological reserves under Fish and Game Code Section 1580, and preserving access to public lands and waters where the purpose of the acquisition is to preserve the land in its natural condition.

(14) Class 14: Minor Additions to Schools. Class 14 consists of minor additions to existing schools within existing schoolgrounds where the addition does not increase original student capacity by more than 25% or five classrooms, whichever is less. The addition of portable classrooms is included in this exemption.

(15) Class 15: Minor Land Divisions. Class 15 consists of the division of property in urbanized areas zoned for residential, commercial, or industrial use into four or fewer parcels when the division is in conformance with the General Plan and zoning, no variances or exceptions are required, all services and access to the proposed parcels to local standards are available, the parcel was not involved in a division of a larger parcel within the previous 2 years, and the parcel does not have a slope greater than 20%.

(16) Class 16: Transfer of Ownership of Land in Order to Create Parks. Class 16 consists of the acquisition or sale of land in order to establish a park where the land is in a natural condition or contains historic sites or archaeological sites and either:

(A) The management plan for the park has not been prepared, or

(B) The management plan proposes to keep the area in a natural condition or preserve the historic or archaeological site. CEQA will apply when a management plan is proposed that will change the area from its natural condition or significantly change the historic or archaeological site.

(17) Class 17: Open Space Contracts or Easements. Class 17 consists of the establishment of agricultural preserves, the making and renewing of open space contracts under the Williamson Act, or the acceptance of easements or fee interests in order to maintain the open space character of the area. The cancellation of such preserves, contracts, interests or easements is not included.

(18) Class 18: Designation of Wilderness Areas. Class 18 consists of the designation of wilderness areas under the California Wilderness System.

(19) Class 19: Annexations of Existing Facilities and Lots for Exempt Facilities. Class 19 consists of only the following annexations:

(A) Annexations to a city or special district of areas containing existing public or private structures developed to the density allowed by the current zoning or pre-zoning of either the gaining or losing governmental agency whichever is more restrictive, provided, however, that the extension of utility services to the existing facilities would have a capacity to serve only the existing facilities.

(B) Annexation of individual small parcels of the minimum size for facilities exempted by Section 15103, New Construction of Small Structures.

(20) Class 20: Changes in Organization of Local Agencies. Class 20 consists of changes in the organization of local governmental agencies where the changes do not change the geographical area in which previously existing powers are exercised. Examples include but are not limited to:

(A) Establishment of a subsidiary district;

(B) Consolidation of two or more districts having identical powers;

(21) Class 21: Enforcement Actions by Regulatory Agencies. Class 21 consists of actions by regulatory agencies to enforce or revoke a lease, permit, certificate, or other entitlement for use issued, adopted or prescribed by the regulatory agency of law, general rule, standard, or objective, administered or adopted by the regulatory agency. Such actions include, but are not limited to, the following:

(A) The direct referral of a violation of lease, permit, license, certificate, or entitlement for use or of a general rule, standard, or objective to the Attorney General, District Attorney, or City Attorney as appropriate, for judicial enforcement.

(B) The adoption of an administrative decision or order enforcing or revoking the lease, permit, license, certificate, or entitlement for use or enforcing the general rule, standard, or objective.

Construction activities undertaken by the public agency taking the enforcement or revocation action are not included in this exemption.

(22) Class 22: Educational or Training Programs Involving No Physical Changes. Class 22 consists of the adoption, alteration, or termination of educational or training programs which involve physical changes only in the interior of existing school or training structures. Examples include, but are not limited to:

(A) Development of or changes in curriculum or training methods;

(B) Changes in the grade structure in a school which do not result in changes in student transportation.

(23) Class 23: Normal Operations of Facilities for Public Gatherings. Class 23 consists of the normal operations of existing facilities for public gatherings for which the facilities were designed, where there is a past history of the facility being used for the same kind of purpose. Facilities included within this exemption include, but are not limited to racetracks, stadiums, convention centers, auditoriums, amphitheaters, planetariums, swimming pools and amusement parks.

(24) Class 24: Regulation of Working Conditions. Class 24 consists of actions taken by regulatory agencies, including the Industrial Welfare Commission as authorized by statute, to regulate any of the following:

(A) Employee wages;

(B) Hours of work; or

(25) Class 25: Transfers of Ownership of Interests in Land to Preserve Open Space. Class 25 consists of the transfers of ownership of interests in land in order to preserve open space. Examples include but are not limited to:

(A) Acquisition of areas to preserve the existing natural conditions;

(B) Acquisition of areas to allow continued agricultural use of the areas;

(D) Acquisition to prevent encroachment of development into flood plains.

(26) Class 26: Acquisition of Housing for Housing Assistance Programs. Class 26 consists of actions by a redevelopment agency, housing authority, or other public agency to implement an adopted Housing Assistance Plan by acquiring an interest in housing units. The housing units may be either in existence or possessing all required permits for construction when the agency makes its final decision to acquire the units.

(27) Class 27: Leasing New Facilities. Class 27 consists of the leasing of a newly constructed or previously unoccupied privately owned facility by a local or state agency where the local governing authority determined that the building was exempt from CEQA. To be exempt under this section, the proposed use of the facility:

(A) Shall be in conformance with existing State plans and policies and with general, community, and specific plans for which an EIR or Negative Declaration has been prepared;

(B) Shall be substantially the same as that originally proposed at the time the building permit was issued;

(D) Shall include the provision of adequate employee and visitor parking facilities;

(E) Examples of Class 27 include but are not limited to:

1. Leasing of administrative offices in newly constructed office space;

2. Leasing of client service offices in newly constructed retail space;

3. Leasing of administrative and/or client service offices in newly constructed industrial parks.

All of the exemptions listed above are inapplicable if the cumulative impact over a period of time has a significant effect on the environment.

1. Repealer of subsection (b)(3) and subsection renumbering filed 2-23-2000; operative 3-24-2000 (Register 2000, No. 8).
2. Amendment of subsection (b)(4) filed 4-26-2001 as an emergency; operative 4-26-2001 (Register 2003, No. 9). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 8-24-2001 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
3. Editorial correction adding HISTORY 2 (Register 2003, No. 9).
4. Reinstatement of section as it existed prior to 4-26-2001 emergency amendment by operation of Government Code section 11346.1(f) (Register 2003, No. 9).

Note: Authority cited: Section 21080.5, Public Resources Code; Section 15050 of the State EIR Guidelines. Reference: Section 21080.5, Public Resources Code; Section 15050 of the State EIR Guidelines.

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