California Code of Regulations › Title 14 - Natural Resources › Division 1 - Fish and Game Commission-Department of Fish and Game › Subdivision 3 - General Regulations › Chapter 4 - Procedural Regulations for Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act of 1970 › Article 2 - Fish and Game as Lead Agency › Section 757 - Exempt Projects

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
Planning and feasibility studies, ministerial projects,
						and classes designated by the State EIR Guidelines as "Categorical exemptions"
						are considered exempt from the provisions of CEQA. It is further modified by
						the State EIR Guidelines to exclude emergencies (Section
						15071), legislative proposals
						(Section 15037(b)(2)),
						continuing administrative or maintenance activities (Section
						15037(b)(3)), and
						"where it can be seen with certainty that the activity in question will not
						have a significant effect on the environment" (Section
						15060). In addition, these
						guidelines are not applicable to those Fish and Game Commission programs or
						activities that are exempted from CEQA through certification by the Secretary
						for Resources under the provisions of Section
						21080.5 CEQA.
The lead unit shall determine which projects are exempt
						and shall prepare a Notice of Exemption. This notice shall be forwarded from
						the lead unit to ESB for review, and from there to the Director's office. If
						the exemption is approved, it shall then be forwarded and filed with the
						Resources Agency. The filing of a notice of exemption starts a 35 day statute
						of limitations period on legal challenges. A copy shall be filed in ESB files
						and a copy returned to the lead unit. If the exemption is not approved, the
						lead unit will be notified. Specific exemptions include:
(a) Feasibility and Planning Studies.
					 Feasibility and planning studies are exempted by Section
					 21102 of CEQA. This section
					 provides that funds shall not be requested or authorized for any project, other
					 than a project involving only feasibility or planning studies for possible
					 future actions not approved, adopted, or funded, which may have a significant
					 effect on the environment, unless an impact report has been prepared. However,
					 environmental factors are to be considered during such studies.
(b) Ministerial Projects. Ministerial
					 projects are exempted from CEQA by Section
					 21080(b).
					 Ministerial projects, as defined in the Section
					 15032 of the State EIR Guidelines,
					 include those activities defined as projects which are undertaken or approved
					 by a governmental decision which a public officer or public agency makes upon a
					 given state of facts in a prescribed manner in obedience to the mandate of
					 legal authority. The following activities of Fish and Game are hereby
					 considered to be ministerial projects as authorized by Section
					 15192(b) of the
					 State EIR Guidelines:
(1) Issuance of fishing
					 and hunting licenses, stamps, and tags, falconry licenses, and trapping
					 licenses;
(2) Actions concerning
					 enforcement of the Fish and Game Code and other State laws;
(3) Licensing of pheasant clubs, commercial
					 hunting clubs, and domesticated migratory waterfowl shooting areas;
(4) Issuance of the following permits:
					 domesticated fish breeder's permit; fish transportation permit; suction dredge
					 permit; fish importation permit; private fish stocking permit; depredation
					 permit; explosives permit; scientific collecting permit; bird banding permit;
					 migratory waterfowl feeding permit; permit to import and possess prohibited
					 species of wild animals; permit for Indians to transport game off reservations;
					 permit for Commission approval for taking of deer; permit to take or herd birds
					 or mammals with the aid of vehicles or aircraft.
Other projects may be ministerial and the determination
						of this status shall be made by Fish and Game on a case-by-case basis,
						depending upon analysis of the laws relevant to the
						project.