Legal Briefs: CEQA-In-Reverse Affirmed on Remand
- Sep 6, 2016
- 2 min read
In the remand of the so-called “CEQA-In-Reverse” case, the First District Court of Appeal has ruled that the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s 2010 Toxic Air Contamination thresholds under CEQA “may not be used for the primary purpose envisioned by District, namely, to routinely assess the effect of existing environmental conditions on future users or occupants of a project.” The court found, in essence, that “Source” thresholds were okay, but “Receptor” thresholds were not because CEQA cannot be used to measure the impact of current environmental conditions on a new project. “We agree that conceptually, a proposed project that would itself worsen environmental conditions would be a source – but it would also be a receptor to the extent it brought users or occupants to the site.” CBIA v. BAAQMD, No. A135335.