Bill > AB2170

This bill, amending the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), aims to enhance environmental review and public participation, particularly for projects impacting "overburdened communities" (defined as disadvantaged communities, disadvantaged unincorporated communities, or census tracts with high pollution burden scores). It mandates that certain industrial projects located in or near these communities, or any expansion of industrial use within them, will require a full environmental impact report, negative declaration, or mitigated negative declaration, and will be disqualified from streamlined review processes. Furthermore, starting July 1, 2027, all public notices related to CEQA, including notices of public hearings, exemptions, and environmental impact report preparations, must be translated into all "threshold languages" (languages spoken by at least 5% of non-English speakers in the local jurisdiction) to ensure broader public understanding and involvement. Public hearings will also require oral translation services in these languages, and while minor translation inaccuracies won't invalidate decisions, they cannot prevent informed public participation. The bill also modifies notice requirements for public hearings, reducing the notification period to 30 days and mandating evening hearing times and remote participation options.