On April 20, 2023, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) published updated California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidance to assist lead agencies in evaluating air quality and climate impacts from proposed land use projects and plans (referred to as the 2022 CEQA Guidelines). The 2022 CEQA Guidelines are advisory for local and regional governments in the San Francisco Bay Area Air Basin. They contain nonbinding recommendations for how a lead agency can evaluate, measure, and mitigate air quality and greenhouse gas impacts generated from land use construction and operational activities. Additionally, the guidelines include the new climate impact thresholds adopted by BAAQMD on April 20, 2022, using performance-based standards requiring new guidance on evaluating the climate impacts of land use projects and plans.
The BAAQMD 2022 CEQA Guidelines do not replace the State CEQA Statute and Guidelines; rather, they are designed to provide BAAQMD-recommended procedures for evaluating potential air quality and climate impacts during the environmental review process that are consistent with CEQA requirements. The revised guidelines supersede BAAQMD’s previous CEQA guidance titled BAAQMD CEQA Air Quality Guidelines (2017).
