11. Certification of EIR

CEQA requires the lead agency to certify that the EIR was completed in compliance with CEQA, that the agency has reviewed and considered it prior to approving the project, and that the EIR reflects the agency's independent judgment. As previously discussed, the EIR was completed after notice and opportunity for public comment on the scope of the environmental review and the Draft EIR, as required by CEQA. The Final EIR documents all written and oral comments made on the Draft EIR and the responses to them, as required by CEQA. The Final EIR identifies the Proposed Project's significant and unavoidable environmental impacts, mitigation measures that will avoid or substantially lessen them, and identified the Proposed Project as the Environmentally Superior Alternative. In finding the Proposed Project is the Environmentally Superior Alternative, the Final EIR modified the finding in the Draft EIR that Alternative 5 was the environmentally superior alternative for the Mirage-Santa Rosa study area and that Alternative 3 was the environmentally superior alternative for the Farrell-Garnet study area.

We have reviewed and considered the information contained in the EIR. We certify that the EIR was completed in compliance with CEQA, that we have reviewed and considered the information contained in it, and that it reflects our independent judgment.