CEQA Portal

Up-Coming Access Changes to the CEQA Portal

Starting November 1, 2024, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Portal will transition from public access to member-only access. This change will allow us to enhance and maintain the quality of this valuable resource for our members.

To continue accessing the CEQA Portal and benefit from its extensive resources, we encourage you to become a member of the California Association of Environmental Professionals (AEP) if you are not already. As a member, you'll not only retain access to the CEQA Portal but also gain access to a full range of services and benefits. These benefits are geared toward environmental professionals who seek to improve their skills as environmental and resource managers. AEP is dedicated to the continued improvement of the environmental profession and its members.

The CEQA Portal was developed by the Association of Environmental Professionals to provide a set of tools for anyone interested in learning about the California Environmental Quality Act. It is intended for CEQA practitioners, attorneys, elected and appointed officials, students, and citizens, to: aid in understanding the goals of CEQA, its process and content requirements, and how to prepare CEQA documents.

Ultimately, we hope to expand the number of tools in the CEQA Portal toolbox, but as a start (Phase I) we are providing these two:

Topic Papers - A set of documents providing clear and organized explanations of a wide variety of CEQA-related topics. The Topic Papers are intended to provide clear answers to frequently asked questions about these topics. There are some aspects of CEQA about which clear guidance cannot yet be provided. Rather than attempting to resolve these issues, each Topic Papers summarizes these issues in a section titled "Areas of Controversy". Each Topic Paper has been reviewed by at least two attorneys specializing in the practice of CEQA.

Topic Papers will be updated periodically, as necessitated by changes in the law, changes to the State CEQA Guidelines, or new precedents resulting from court decisions. At present, five Topic Papers are posted; others will be posted as they are completed.

Case Law Database - Because the courts have continuing authority to decide issues related to CEQA compliance, the requirements of CEQA are constantly subject to change. The Case Law Database allows users to:
  • Select a CEQA Topic or enter a key word and receive a listing of all CEQA cases applicable to that topic or containing that keyword;
  • Filter results by Court of Jurisdiction or date range; and
  • Sort results chronologically, by court, or by case name.
In the future, we will be adding AEP-prepared summaries for many cases, summaries prepared by law firms, court documents, and perhaps the CEQA documents at issue for each case.

The CEQA Portal is being provided free-of-charge at present. However, in order to ensure that sufficient funds are available to keep the content current, and to expand the tools available, a charge will be required in the future to access the CEQA Portal.
 

VISIT CEQA PORTAL

MEMBER CEQA PORTAL

For questions, please contact Pat Angell at: pat.angell@ascentenvironmental.com