11.32 “Land Disposal Facility” means a hazardous waste facility where hazardous waste is disposed in, on, or under land. (Health and Safety Code section 25199.1(d).)
11.33 “Large Treatment Facility” means a treatment facility which treats or recycles one thousand (1,000) or more tons of hazardous waste during any one month of the current reporting period commencing on or after July 1, 1991. (Health and Safety Code section 25205.1(d).)
11.34 “LCI” refers to the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (formerly known as the Office of Planning and Research, or OPR).
11.35 “Lead Agency” means the public agency which has the principal responsibility for preparing environmental documents and for carrying out or approving a project when more than one public agency is involved with the same underlying activity.
11.36 “Low- and Moderate-Income Households” means persons and families of low or moderate income as defined in Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code—i.e., persons and families whose income does not exceed 120% of area median income, adjusted for family size by the Department of Housing and Community Development, in accordance with adjustment factors adopted and amended from time to time by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development pursuant to Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937. (Public Resources Code section 21159.20(d); State CEQA Guidelines section 15191(f).)
11.37 “Low-Income Households” means households of persons and families of very low and low income. Low-income persons or families are those eligible for financial assistance from governmental agencies for occupants of state-funded housing. Very low income persons are those whose incomes do not exceed the qualifying limits for very low income families as established and amended pursuant to Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937. Such limits are published and updated in the California Code of Regulations. (Public Resources Code section 21159.20(c); Health and Safety Code sections 50105 and 50106; State CEQA Guidelines section 15191(g).)
11.38 “Low-Level Flight Path” means any flight path for any aircraft owned, maintained, or under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Defense that flies lower than 1,500 feet above ground level, as indicated in the United States Department of Defense Flight Information Publication, “Area Planning Military Training Routes: North and South America (AP/1B)” published by the United States National Imagery and Mapping Agency or its successor.
11.39 “Lower Income Households” is defined in Health and Safety Code section 50079.5 to mean any of the following:
Local Guidelines for Implementing the
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11.40 “Lower income households” means persons and families whose income does not exceed the qualifying limits for lower income families as established and amended from time to time pursuant to Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937; (2) “Very low income households” means persons and families whose incomes do not exceed the qualifying limits for very low income families as defined in Health and Safety Code section 50105; or
(3) “Extremely low income households” means persons and families whose incomes do not exceed the qualifying limits for extremely low income families as defined in Health and Safety Code section 50106.
11.41 “Major Transit Stop” means a site containing an existing rail or bus rapid transit station, a ferry terminal served by either a bus or rail transit service, or the intersection of two or more major bus routes with a frequency of service interval of twenty (20) minutes or less during the morning and afternoon peak commute periods. (Pub. Resources Code, § 21064.3; see also Pub. Resources Code, § 21060.2; State CEQA Guidelines section 15191(i).)
11.42 “Metropolitan Planning Organization” or “MPO” means a federally-designated agency that provides transportation planning and programming in metropolitan areas. A MPO is designated for each urban area that has been defined in the most recent federal census as having a population of more than 50,000 people. There are 18 federally-designated MPOs in California. Non-urbanized (rural) areas do not have a designated MPO.
11.43 “Military Impact Zone” means any area, including airspace, that meets both of the following criteria:
(1) Is located within two miles of a military installation, including, but not limited to, any base, military airport, camp, post, station, yard, center, homeport facility for a ship, or any other military activity center that is under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Defense; and
(2) Covers greater than 500 acres of unincorporated land, or greater than 100 acres of city incorporated land.
11.44 “Military Service” means the United States Department of Defense or any branch of the United States Armed Forces.
11.45 “Ministerial” describes a governmental decision involving little or no personal judgment by the public official as to the wisdom or manner of carrying out the project.
The public official merely applies the law to the facts as presented but uses no special discretion or standards or objective measurements, and the public official cannot use personal, subjective judgment in deciding whether or how the project should be carried out. Common examples of ministerial permits include automobile registrations, dog licenses, and marriage licenses. A building permit is ministerial if the ordinance requiring the permit limits the public official to determining whether the zoning allows the structure to be built in the requested location, the structure would meet the strength Local Guidelines for Implementing the
California Environmental Quality Act (2026) DEFINITIONS 20252026 City of Corona Local Guidelines 11-9 ©Best Best & Krieger LLP requirements in the Uniform Building Code, and the applicant has paid his fee. (Public Resources Code section 21080(b)(1).)
11.46 “Mitigated Negative Declaration” or “MND” means a Negative Declaration prepared for a Project when the Initial Study has identified potentially significant effects on the environment, but: (1) revisions in the project plans or proposals made, or agreed to, by the applicant before the proposed Negative Declaration and Initial Study are released for public review would avoid the effects or mitigate the effects to a point where clearly no significant effect on the environment would occur, and (2) there is no substantial evidence in light of the whole record before the public agency that the project, as revised, may have a significant effect on the environment.
11.47 “Mitigation” includes avoiding the environmental impact altogether by not taking a certain action or parts of an action, minimizing impacts by limiting the degree or magnitude of the action and its implementation, rectifying the impact by repairing, rehabilitating or restoring the impacted environment, reducing or eliminating the impact over time by preservation and maintenance operations during the life of the action, or compensating for the impact by replacing or providing substitute resources or environments, including through permanent protection of such resources in the form of conservation easements.
11.48 “Negative Declaration” or “ND” means a written statement by the City briefly describing the reasons that a proposed project, not exempt from CEQA, will not have a significant effect on the environment and, therefore, does not require the preparation of an EIR.
11.49 “Notice of Completion” means a brief report filed with the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation by the City when it is the Lead Agency as soon as it has completed a Draft EIR and is prepared to send out copies for review.
11.50 “Notice of Determination” means a brief notice to be filed by the City when it approves or determines to carry out a project which is subject to the requirements of CEQA.
11.51 “Notice of Exemption” means a brief notice which may be filed by the City when it has approved or determined to carry out a project, and it has determined that the project is exempt from the requirements of CEQA. Such a notice may also be filed by an applicant where such a determination has been made by a public agency which must approve the project.
11.52 “Notice of Preparation” means a brief notice sent by a Lead Agency to notify the Responsible Agencies, Trustee Agencies, the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, and involved federal agencies that the Lead Agency plans to prepare an EIR for a project. The purpose of this notice is to solicit guidance from those agencies as to the scope and content of the environmental information to be included in the EIR.
Public agencies are free to develop their own formats for this notice.
11.53 “Oak” means a native tree species in the genus Quercus, not designated as Group A or Group B commercial species pursuant to regulations adopted by the State Board of Local Guidelines for Implementing the
California Environmental Quality Act (2026) DEFINITIONS 20252026 City of Corona Local Guidelines 11-10 ©Best Best & Krieger LLP Forestry and Fire Protection pursuant to Public Resources Code section 4526, and that is five (5) inches or more in diameter at breast height. (Public Resources Code section 21083.4(a).)
11.54 “Oak Woodlands” means an oak stand with a greater than 10 percent canopy cover or that may have historically supported greater than 10 percent canopy cover. (Fish & Game Code section 1361(h).)
11.55 “Offsite Facility” means a facility that serves more than one generator of hazardous waste. (Public Resources Code section 21151.1(h).)
11.56 “Person” includes any person, firm, association, organization, partnership, business, trust, corporation, company, city, county, city and county, town, the state, and any of the agencies which may be political subdivisions of such entities, and, to the extent permitted by federal law, the United States, or any of its agencies or political subdivisions.
11.57 “Pipeline” as defined in these Local Guidelines depends on the context. Please see Local Guidelines Sections 3.10 and 3.11 for specific definitions.
11.58 “Private Project” means a project which will be carried out by a person other than a governmental agency, but which will need a discretionary approval from the City.
Private projects will normally be those listed in subsections (2) and (3) of Local Guidelines Section 11.59.
11.59 “Project” means the whole of an action or activity which may cause either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect change in the environment, and is any of the following:
(1) A discretionary activity directly undertaken by the City including but not limited to public works construction and related activities, clearing or grading of land, or improvements to existing public structures; (2) A discretionary activity which involves a public agency’s issuance to a person of a lease, permit, license, certificate, or other entitlement for use, or which is supported, in whole or in part, through contracts, grants, subsidies, loans or other forms of assistance by the City; or
(3) A discretionary project proposed to be carried out or approved by public agencies, including but not limited to the enactment and amendment of local General Plans or elements thereof, the enactment of zoning ordinances, the issuance of zoning variances, the issuance of conditional use permits and the approval of tentative subdivision maps.
The presence of any real degree of control over the manner in which a project is completed makes it a discretionary project.
Local Guidelines for Implementing the
California Environmental Quality Act (2026) DEFINITIONS 20252026 City of Corona Local Guidelines 11-11 ©Best Best & Krieger LLP The term “project” refers to the activity which is being approved and which may be subject to several discretionary approvals by governmental agencies. The term “project” does not mean each separate governmental approval.
11.60 “Project-Specific Effects” means all the direct or indirect environmental effects of a project other than cumulative effects and growth-inducing effects. (Public Resources Code section 21065.3; State CEQA Guidelines section 15191(j).)
11.61 “Public Water System” means a system for the provision of piped water to the public for human consumption that has 3,000 or more service connections. A public water system includes all of the following: (A) Any collection, treatment, storage, and distribution facility under control of the operator of the system which is used primarily in connection with the system; (B) Any collection or pretreatment storage facility not under the control of the operator that is used primarily in connection with the system; (C) Any person who treats water on behalf of one or more public water systems for the purpose of rendering it safe for human consumption. (State CEQA Guidelines section 15155.)
11.62 “Qualified Urban Use” means any residential, commercial, public institutional, transit or transportation passenger facility, or retail use, or any combination of those uses. (Public Resources Code section 21072; State CEQA Guidelines section 15191(k).)
11.63 “Residential” means a use consisting of either residential units only or residential units and primarily neighborhood-serving goods, services, or retail uses that do not exceed 15% of the total floor area of the project. (State CEQA Guidelines section 15191(l).) Residential, pursuant to Public Resources Code section 21159.24, shall mean a use consisting of either of the following:
(1) Residential units only.
(2) Residential units and primarily neighborhood-serving goods, services, or retail uses that do not exceed 25 percent of the total building square footage of the project.
11.64 “Responsible Agency” means a public agency which proposes to carry out or approve a project for which a Lead Agency has prepared the environmental documents. For the purposes of CEQA, the term “Responsible Agency” includes all federal, state, regional and local public agencies other than the Lead Agency which have discretionary approval power over the project.
11.65 “Riparian areas” mean those areas transitional between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and that are distinguished by gradients in biophysical conditions, ecological processes, and biota. A riparian area is an area through which surface and subsurface hydrology connect waterbodies with their adjacent uplands. A riparian area includes those portions of terrestrial ecosystems that significantly influence exchanges of energy and matter with aquatic ecosystems. A riparian area is adjacent to perennial, intermittent, and ephemeral streams, lakes, and estuarine-marine shorelines.
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11.66 “Roadway” means a roadway as defined pursuant to Section 530 of the Vehicle Code and the previously graded and maintained shoulder that is within a roadway right-ofway of no more than five feet from the edge of the roadway.
11.67 “Significant Effect” means a substantial, or potentially substantial, adverse change in any of the physical conditions within the area affected by the activity including land, air, water, minerals, flora, fauna, ambient noise, and objects of historic or aesthetic significance. A social or economic change related to a physical change may be considered in determining whether the physical change is significant.
11.68 “Significant Value as a Wildlife Habitat” includes wildlife habitat of national, statewide, regional, or local importance; habitat for species protected by the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531, et seq.), the California Endangered Species Act (Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 2050) of Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code), or the Native Plant Protection Act (Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 1900) of Division 2 of the Fish and Game Code); habitat identified as candidate, fully protected, sensitive, or species of special status by local, state, or federal agencies; or habitat essential to the movement of resident or migratory wildlife.
11.69 “Special Use Airspace” means the land area underlying the airspace that is designated for training, research, development, or evaluation for a military service, as that land area is established by the United States Department of Defense Flight Information Publication, “Area Planning: Special Use Airspace: North and South America (AP/1A)” published by the United States National Imagery and Mapping Agency or its successor.
11.70 “Staff” means the City Manager or his or her designee.
11.71 “Standard” means a standard of general application that is all of the following:
(1) A quantitative, qualitative or performance requirement found in a statute, ordinance, resolution, rule, regulation, order, or other standard of general application;
(2) Adopted for the purpose of environmental protection; (3) Adopted by a public agency through a public review process; (4) Governs the same environmental effect which the change in the environment is impacting; and
(5) Governs the jurisdiction where the project is located.
The definition of “standard” includes any thresholds of significance adopted by the City which meet the requirements of this Section.
Local Guidelines for Implementing the
California Environmental Quality Act (2026) DEFINITIONS 20252026 City of Corona Local Guidelines 11-13 ©Best Best & Krieger LLP If there is a conflict between standards, the City shall determine which standard is appropriate based upon substantial evidence in light of the whole record.
11.72 “State CEQA Guidelines” means the Guidelines for Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act as adopted by the Secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency as they now exist or hereafter may be amended. (California Administrative Code, Title 14, sections 15000, et seq.)
11.73 “Substantial Evidence” means reliable information on which a fair argument can be based to support an inference or conclusion, even though another conclusion could be drawn from that information. “Substantial evidence” includes facts, reasonable assumptions predicated upon facts, and expert opinion supported by facts. “Substantial evidence” does not include argument, speculation, unsubstantiated opinion or narrative, evidence which is clearly inaccurate or erroneous, or evidence of social or economic impacts which do not contribute to, or are not caused by, physical impacts on the environment.
11.74 “Sustainable Communities Strategy” is an element of a Regional Transportation Plan, which must be adopted by the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the region. (See Local Guidelines Section 11.40.) The Sustainable Communities Strategy is an integrated land use and transportation plan intended to reduce greenhouse gases. The Sustainable Communities Strategy includes various components such as: consideration of existing densities and uses within the region, identification of areas within the region that can accommodate an eight-year projection of the region’s housing needs, development of projections for growth in the region, identification of existing transportation networks, and preparation of a forecast for development pattern for the region that can be integrated with transportation networks.
11.75 “Tiering” means the coverage of general matters in broader EIRs (such as on general plans or policy statements) with subsequent narrower EIRs or ultimately site-specific EIRs incorporating by reference the general discussions and concentrating solely on the issues specific to the EIR subsequently prepared. Tiering is appropriate when the sequence of EIRs is:
(a) From a general plan, policy, or Program EIR to a program, plan, or policy EIR of lesser scope or to a site-specific EIR; or (b) From an EIR on a specific action at an early stage to a subsequent EIR or a supplement to an EIR at a later stage. Tiering in such cases is appropriate when it helps the Lead Agency to focus on the issues which are ripe for decision and exclude from consideration issues already decided or not yet ripe.
(Public Resources Code sections 21003, 21061 and 21100.)
11.76 “Transit Priority Area” means an area within one-half mile of a major transit stop that is existing or planned, if the planned stop is scheduled to be completed within the Local Guidelines for Implementing the
California Environmental Quality Act (2026) DEFINITIONS 20252026 City of Corona Local Guidelines 11-14 ©Best Best & Krieger LLP planning horizon included in a Transportation Improvement Program adopted pursuant to Section 450.216 or 450.322 of Title 23 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
11.77 “Transit Priority Project” means a mixed use project that is consistent with the general use designation, density, building intensity, and applicable policies specified for the project area in either a sustainable communities strategy or an alternative planning strategy for which the California Air Resources Board has accepted a Metropolitan Planning Organization’s determination that the sustainable communities strategy or the alternative planning strategy would, if implemented, achieve the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. Such a project may be exempt from CEQA if a detailed laundry list of requirements is met. To qualify for the exemption, the Transit Priority Project must:
(1) contain at least 50 percent residential use based on total building square footage; (2) if the project contains between 26 percent and 50 percent non-residential uses, the floor-to-area ratio (FAR) must be at least 0.75;
(3) have a minimum net density of 20 dwelling units per acre; (4) be located within a half mile of a major transit stop or high-quality transit corridor included in a regional transportation plan; and (5) meet all the requirements of Public Resources Code section 21155.1.
11.78 “Transportation Facilities” includes major local arterials and public transit within five (5) miles of the project site, and freeways, highways, and rail transit service within ten (10) miles of the project site.
11.79 “Tribal Cultural Resources” are either of the following:
(1) Sites, features, places, cultural landscapes, sacred places, and objects with cultural value to a California Native American tribe that are either of the following:
(a) Included or determined to be eligible for inclusion in the California Register of Historical Resources.
(b) Included in a local register of historic resources as defined in subdivision (k) of Public Resources Code section 5020.1. (2) A resource determined by the Lead Agency, in its discretion and supported by substantial evidence, to be significant pursuant to criteria set forth in subdivision (c) of Public Resources Code section 5024.1. In applying the criteria set forth in subdivision (c) of Section 5024.1 for the purposes of this definition, the Lead Agency shall consider the significance of the resource to a California Native American tribe.
Local Guidelines for Implementing the
California Environmental Quality Act (2026) DEFINITIONS 20252026 City of Corona Local Guidelines 11-15 ©Best Best & Krieger LLP A cultural landscape that meets the criteria set forth above is a tribal cultural resource to the extent that the landscape is geographically defined in terms of the size and scope of the landscape.
A historic resource described in Public Resources Code section 21084.1, a unique archaeological resource as defined in subdivision (g) of Public Resources Code section 21083.2, or a “nonunique archaeological resource” as defined in subdivision (h) of Public Resources Code section 21083.2 may also be a tribal cultural resource if it conforms with the criteria of Tribal cultural resources.
11.80 “Trustee Agency” means a State agency having jurisdiction by law over natural resources affected by a project which are held in trust for the people of the State of California. Trustee Agencies may include, but are not limited to, the following:
(a) The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (“DFW”) with regard to the fish and wildlife of the state, designated rare or endangered native plants, and game refuges, ecological reserves, and other areas administered by DFW;
(b) The State Lands Commission with regard to state owned “sovereign” lands such as the beds of navigable waters and state school lands; (c) The State Department of Parks and Recreation with regard to units of the State Park System;
(d) The University of California with regard to sites within the Natural Land and Water Reserve System; and/or
(e) The State Water Resources Control Board with respect to surface waters.
11.81 “Urban Growth Boundary” means a provision of a locally adopted general plan that allows urban uses on one side of the boundary and prohibits urban uses on the other side of the boundary.
11.82 “Urbanized Area” means either of the following:
(1) An incorporated city that either by itself or in combination with two contiguous incorporated cities has a population of at least one hundred thousand (100,000) persons;
(2) An unincorporated area that meets both of the following requirements:
(a) The unincorporated area is either:
(i) completely surrounded by one or more incorporated cities, has a population of at least 100,000 persons either by itself or in combination with the surrounding incorporated city or cities, and has a population density that at least equals the population density of the surrounding city or cities; or
(ii) located within an urban growth boundary and has an existing residential population of at least five thousand (5,000) persons per square mile. An “urban growth boundary” means a
Local Guidelines for Implementing the
California Environmental Quality Act (2026) DEFINITIONS 20252026 City of Corona Local Guidelines 11-16 ©Best Best & Krieger LLP provision of a locally adopted general plan that allows urban uses on one side of the boundary and prohibits urban uses on the other side.
(b) The board of supervisors with jurisdiction over the unincorporated area has taken all three of the following steps:
1. Prepared a draft document by which the board would find that the general plan, zoning ordinance, and related policies and programs applicable to the unincorporated area are consistent with principles that encourage compact development in a manner that promotes efficient transportation systems,
economic growth, affordable housing, energy efficiency, and an appropriate balance of jobs and housing, and protects the environment, open space and agricultural areas;
2. Submitted the draft document to the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation and allowed LCI thirty (30) days to submit comments on the draft finding to the board; and
3. At least thirty (30) days after submitting the draft document to the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, the board has adopted a final finding in substantial conformity with the draft finding described in the draft document.
(Public Resources Code sections 21083, 21159.20-21159.24; State CEQA Guidelines section 15191(m).)
11.83 “Water Acquisition Plans” means any plans for acquiring additional water supplies prepared by the public water system or a city or county Lead Agency pursuant to subdivision (a) of section 10911 of the Water Code.
11.84 “Water Assessment” or “Water Supply Assessment” means the water supply assessment that must be prepared by the governing body of a public water system, or a city or county, pursuant to and in compliance with sections 10910 to 10915 of the Water Code, and that includes, without limitation, the elements of the assessment required to comply with subdivisions (d), (e), (f), and (g) of section 10910 of the Water Code.
11.85 “Water Demand Project” means any one of the following:
(A) A residential development of more than 500 dwelling units; (B) A shopping center or business establishment employing more than 1,000 persons or having more than 500,000 square feet of floor space; (C) A commercial office building employing more than 1,000 persons or having more than 250,000 square feet of floor space;
(D) A hotel or motel, or both, having more than 500 rooms; Local Guidelines for Implementing the
California Environmental Quality Act (2026) DEFINITIONS 20252026 City of Corona Local Guidelines 11-17 ©Best Best & Krieger LLP (E) An industrial, manufacturing, or processing plant, or industrial park planned to house more than 1,000 persons, occupying more than 40 acres of land, or having more than 650,000 square feet of floor area;
Except, a proposed photovoltaic or wind energy generation facility approved on or after October 8, 2011, is not a Water Demand Project if the facility would demand no more than 75 acre-feet of water annually.
(F) A mixed-use project that includes one or more of the projects specified in subdivisions (A); (B), (C), (D), (E), or (G) of this section; (G) A project that would demand an amount of water equivalent to, or greater than, the amount of water required by a 500 dwelling unit project; or (H) For public water systems with fewer than 5,000 service connections, a project that meets the following criteria:
(1) A proposed residential, business, commercial, hotel or motel, or industrial development that would account for an increase of 10 percent or more in the number of a public water system’s existing service connections; or
(2) A mixed-use project that would demand an amount of water equivalent to, or greater than, the amount of water required by residential development that would represent an increase of 10 percent or more in the number of the public water system’s existing service connections. (State CEQA Guidelines section 15155.)
11.86 “Waterway” means a bay, estuary, lake, pond, river, slough, or a perennial, intermittent, or ephemeral stream, lake, or estuarine-marine shoreline.
11.87 “Wetlands” has the same meaning as that term is construed in the regulations issued by the United States Army Corps of Engineers pursuant to the Clean Water Act. Thus, “wetlands” means areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas. (Public Resources Code section 21159.21(d), incorporating Title 33, Code of Federal Regulations, section 328.3.)
11.88 “Wildlife Habitat” means the ecological communities upon which wild animals, birds, plants, fish, amphibians, and invertebrates depend for their conservation and protection. (Public Resources Code section 21159.21.)
11.89 “Zoning Approval” means any enactment, amendment, or appeal of a zoning ordinance; granting of a conditional use permit or variance; or any other form of land Local Guidelines for Implementing the
California Environmental Quality Act (2026) DEFINITIONS 20252026 City of Corona Local Guidelines 11-18 ©Best Best & Krieger LLP use, subdivision, tract, or development approval required from the city or county having jurisdiction to permit the particular use of the property.
Local Guidelines for Implementing the
California Environmental Quality Act (2026) FORMS
20252026 City of Corona Local Guidelines 12-1 ©Best Best & Krieger LLP
12. FORMS
See forms A – S which accompany these Guidelines.
Local Guidelines for Implementing the
California Environmental Quality Act (2026) Common ACRONYMS 20252026 City of Corona Local Guidelines 13-1 ©Best Best & Krieger LLP
13. COMMON ACRONYMS
A. **************************************************
ADEIR – Administrative Draft Environmental Impact Report AQMD – Air Quality Management District
AQMP – Air Quality Management Plan
AR – Administrative Record
ARB – Air Resources Board
B. **************************************************
BMP – Best Management Practices
BO – Biological Opinion
C. **************************************************
Cal EPA – California Environmental Protection Agency
CAP – Climate Action Plan
CCAA – California Clean Air Act
CCR – California Code of Regulations (Title 14 Sections 15000 et seq. are also known as the State CEQA Guidelines.)
CE – Categorical Exclusion (NEPA)
CESA – California Endangered Species Act
CEQA – California Environmental Quality Act
CFR – Code of Federal Regulations
CMP – Congestion Management Plan
CRWQCB – California Regional Water Quality Control Board D. **************************************************
DEIR – Draft Environmental Impact Report
DFW – Department of Fish and Wildlife
E. **************************************************
EA – Environmental Assessment (NEPA term)
EIR – Environmental Impact Report
EIS – Environmental Impact Statement (NEPA term)
EPA – Environmental Protection Agency
ESA – Endangered Species Act; Environmental Site Assessment F. **************************************************
FCAA – Federal Clean Air Act
FEIR – Final Environmental Impact Report
FOIA – Freedom of Information Act (Federal)
FONSI – Finding of No Significant Impact (NEPA term)
FWS – Fish and Wildlife Service
Local Guidelines for Implementing the
California Environmental Quality Act (2026) Common ACRONYMS 20252026 City of Corona Local Guidelines 13-2 ©Best Best & Krieger LLP G. **************************************************
GHG – Greenhouse Gas
GW – Ground Water
H. **************************************************
HH&E – Human Health and Environment
HRA – Health Risk Assessment
HS – Hazardous Substance
I. **************************************************
IS – Initial Study
J. **************************************************
K. **************************************************
L. **************************************************
LADD – Lifetime Average Daily Dose; Lowest Acceptable Daily Dose LCI – Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (formerly Office of Planning and Research or OPR)
LEA – Local Enforcement Agency
LESA – Land Evaluation and Site Assessment
LUFT – Leaking Underground Fuel Tank
LUST – Leaking Underground Storage Tanks. Reference Part 213 of Public Act 451 of 1994.
M. **************************************************
MEIR – Master Environmental Impact Report
MMRP – Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Plan
MPO – Metropolitan Planning Organization
MND – Mitigated Negative Declaration
N. **************************************************
ND – Negative Declaration
NEPA – National Environmental Policy Act
NOA – Notice of Availability
NOC – Notice of Completion
NOD – Notice of Determination
NOE – Notice of Exemption
NOI – Notice of Intent
NOP – Notice of Preparation
NOV – Notice of Violation
O. **************************************************
Local Guidelines for Implementing the
California Environmental Quality Act (2026) Common ACRONYMS 20252026 City of Corona Local Guidelines 13-3 ©Best Best & Krieger LLP P. **************************************************
PEIR – Program Environmental Impact Report. Sometimes also used to describe a Project Environmental Impact Report
PM – Particulate Matter
PRA – Public Records Act
PSA – Permit Streamlining Act
Q. **************************************************
R. **************************************************
RCRA – Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (1976) Governs definition, handling, and disposal of hazardous waste.
S. **************************************************
SCH – State Clearinghouse
SEIR – Supplemental or Subsequent Environmental Impact Report SMARA – Surface Mining and Reclamation Act
SWMP – Stormwater Monitoring Program
SWPPP – Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program
T. **************************************************
TCM – Transportation Control Measure
TCP – Transportation Control Plan
TDS – Total Dissolved Solids
TMP – Transportation Management Plan
Title V – refers to Title V of the Clean Air Act related to ambient air quality provisions TLV – Threshold Limit Value
U. **************************************************
UBC – Uniform Building Code
UFC – Uniform Fire Code
UGST – Underground Storage Tank
USDW – Underground Source of Drinking Water
UWMP – Urban Water Management Plan
V. **************************************************
VOC – Volatile Organic Compounds (Health & Safety Code, section 25123.6.) VOS – Vehicle Operating Survey
W. **************************************************
WQS – Water Quality Standard
WSA – Water Supply Assessment
Local Guidelines for Implementing the
California Environmental Quality Act (2026) Common ACRONYMS 20252026 City of Corona Local Guidelines 13-4 ©Best Best & Krieger LLP WTP – Water Treatment Plant. A facility designed to provide treatment to water.
WWTP – Wastewater Treatment Plan
X. **************************************************
Y. **************************************************
Z. **************************************************