6. Environmental Review

Under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Commission must consider the environmental consequences of a project that is subject to the Commission's discretionary approval. (Pub. Resources Code § 21080.) SCE states that Power Storage is in the process of obtaining all permits and approvals required by government agencies having jurisdiction for the development of a self-storage facility on the site. Article 6.2(h) of lessee's agreement with SCE directs lessee to procure and deliver to SCE evidence of compliance with all applicable codes, ordinances, regulations and requirements for permits and approvals, including CEQA requirements.

Where a project is to be approved by more than one public agency, one agency becomes the "lead agency" with responsibility to prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) or negative declaration for the project. (CEQA Guideline § 15050, Pub. Resources Code § 21165.) Generally, if the project is to be carried out by a nongovernmental entity, the lead agency is the public agency with the greatest responsibility for supervising or approving the project as a whole. (CEQA Guideline § 15151.) All other public agencies with discretionary approval power over the project are "responsible agencies." (CEQA guideline § 15381.) To comply with CEQA, a responsible agency must consider the lead agency's EIR, negative declaration or other CEQA analysis. (CEQA Guideline § 15050(b).) The specific activities that must be conducted by a responsible agency are set forth in CEQA Guideline § 15096.

In the past, the Commission has treated an application like this one merely as a request by the utility to allow it to transfer a leasehold interest in utility property. The Commission does not approve the project itself and does not issue a permit for the project development. The Commission conditioned its approval of such proposed leases on lessee's compliance with all applicable environmental regulations. The Commission reasoned that local authorities are generally in a superior position to evaluate local environmental impacts and develop appropriate mitigation strategies. (See, e.g., Decision (D.) 99-02-036 and D.99-04-066.) Accordingly the Commission deferred to the local authorities to approve the project as a whole, subject to CEQA requirements.

However, to ensure that no development will take place without CEQA approval by the appropriate agency, the Commission on August 2, 2001, in D.01-08-022, announced a change in its procedure for future applications. Henceforth, we will require the utility to include with its application copies of the necessary documents issued by the local entity acting as the lead agency under CEQA. This will be done to establish that the environmental review has been conducted and any mitigation measures required by CEQA have been imposed, or that the lead agency found that the project in question is exempt from CEQA. The Commission would then assume the role of a responsible agency for CEQA purposes.

Since this application was filed before the change in our procedure, we will in this instance approve the application on condition that SCE submits the necessary documents within 120 days to confirm that the lead agency has, in fact, conducted environmental review for this project.