California Code of Regulations
Title 14 - Natural Resources
Division 6 - Resources Agency
Chapter 3 - Guidelines for Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act
Article 1 - General
Section 15004 - Time of Preparation
Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024
(a) Before granting any approval of a project subject to CEQA, every lead agency or responsible agency shall consider a final EIR or negative declaration or another document authorized by these guidelines to be used in the place of an EIR or negative declaration. See the definition of "approval" in Section 15352.
(b) Choosing the precise time for CEQA compliance involves a balancing of competing factors. EIRs and negative declarations should be prepared as early as feasible in the planning process to enable environmental considerations to influence project program and design and yet late enough to provide meaningful information for environmental assessment.
(c) The environmental document preparation and review should be coordinated in a timely fashion with the existing planning, review, and project approval processes being used by each public agency. These procedures, to the maximum extent feasible, are to run concurrently, not consecutively. When the lead agency is a state agency, the environmental document shall be included as part of the regular project report if such a report is used in its existing review and budgetary process.
1. New section filed 7-13-83; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 83, No. 29).
2. Editorial correction of 7-13-83 order redesignating effective date to 8-1-83 filed 7-14-83 (Register 83, No. 29).
3. New subsections (b)(2)-(b)(2)(B), subsection renumbering, amendment of subsection (c), and amendment of NOTE filed 10-26-98; operative 10-26-98 pursuant to Public Resources Code section 21087 (Register 98, No. 44).
4. Change without regulatory effect amending NOTE filed 10-6-2005 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2005, No. 40).
5. Redesignation of portions of subsection (b)(2) as new subsections (b)(2)(A)-(B), new subsections (b)(4)-(b)(D) and amendment of NOTE filed 12-28-2018; operative 12-28-2018 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2018, No. 52).
Note: Authority cited: Section 21083, Public Resources Code. Reference: Sections 21003, 21061 and 21105, Public Resources Code; Friends of Mammoth v. Board of Supervisors, (1972) 8 Cal. 3d 247; Mount Sutro Defense Committee v. Regents of the University of California, (1978) 77 Cal. App. 3d 20; and Save Tara v. City of West Hollywood (2008) 45 Cal.4th 116.