California Building Industry Association v. Bay Area Air Quality Management District

A California state court issued a decision ordering the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to set aside, depublish, and stop the circulation of thresholds of significance for greenhouse gas emissions for analyses under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The thresholds were intended to be used by the District and other local agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area to determine whether a local land use project would have significant air quality impacts under CEQA. In 2010, the District adopted a resolution which included numeric air quality thresholds, including greenhouse gas emissions, for analyses by lead agencies under CEQA. If a project’s emissions exceeded the thresholds, it would result in a finding of significant impact necessitating preparation of an environmental impact report and adoption of mitigation measures. A building industry association filed suit, alleging that the District did not analyze the thresholds as a project under CEQA and failed to study their impact on future development patterns. The court agreed, holding that the thresholds should be set aside pending full CEQA compliance.