SB 887: California Environmental Quality Act: environmental leadership development projects: data centers.

(1)The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA exempts ministerial projects from its requirements. CEQA also exempts from its requirements a project that consists exclusively of a facility for advanced manufacturing, as specified.

This bill would specify that projects proposed to be carried out or approved by a public agency for the development and operation of a data center, as defined, are not ministerial projects exempt from CEQA. Because the bill would require the public agency to comply with CEQA for those data center projects that would otherwise be exempt from CEQA as ministerial projects, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would specify that the CEQA exemption for an advanced manufacturing facility does not apply to a data center, as defined.

(2)The Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2021 authorizes the Governor, until January 1, 2032, to certify environmental leadership development projects that meet specified requirements for certain streamlining benefits related to CEQA. The act, among other things, requires a lead agency to prepare the record of proceedings for an environmental leadership development project concurrent with the administrative process and to provide a specified notice within 10 days of the Governor certifying the project. The act is repealed by its own terms on January 1, 2034.

This bill would extend the application of the act to a data center, as defined, that is certified by the lead agency to meet specified conditions. By increasing the duties of a lead agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(3)The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.