What is CEQA, and who does it apply to?
CEQA applies to projects: activities an agency carries out, funds or permits that may cause a direct, or reasonably foreseeable indirect, physical change in the environment[18]. That covers discretionary approvals such as zoning changes, conditional use permits and tentative subdivision maps, but not ministerial projects or emergency repairs[2]. Private development is covered only when it needs government approval, permits or funding[6].
The CEQA process in three steps
First, the lead agency checks whether a statutory or categorical exemption applies; if one does, review stops[19][20][6]. Second, it prepares an initial study[21]. Third, it prepares an EIR if substantial evidence shows the project may have a significant effect; otherwise it adopts a negative declaration, or a mitigated negative declaration when revisions the applicant agrees to clearly avoid the effects[2].
Who is the CEQA lead agency?
The lead agency has principal responsibility for carrying out or approving the project[22]: the agency running its own project or, for a private project, the one with the greatest responsibility for approving it as a whole, normally a city or county[23]. Its choice of document is final, including for responsible agencies, unless challenged in court[5].
Responsible agencies hold other discretionary approvals over the project[24]; trustee agencies, such as the State Lands Commission, hold natural resources in trust for Californians[25]. The lead agency must independently review every negative declaration and EIR, including any a contractor prepares[26]. Before releasing either, it must begin consultation with any affiliated California Native American tribe that asked in writing to be notified and then requests it[27].
Where are CEQA documents filed?
Draft EIRs and proposed negative declarations go electronically to the State Clearinghouse, through CEQA Submit, and on the lead agency's website[26][8]. The Clearinghouse, part of LCI, circulates them to state agencies, and its CEQAnet database holds documents and notices received since 1980[11]. Class 1, existing facilities, appears in 60.2% of the categorical exemption notices it received from October 2025 to September 2026[28].
A state agency files its notices with LCI rather than the county clerk[29][30]. Each public agency is responsible for its own CEQA compliance[31]. No agency enforces CEQA; lawsuits do[8], and they must be filed within 30 days of a notice of determination, 35 days of a notice of exemption, or 180 days if no notice was filed[32].