ES 165A Fall 2012
Environmental Studies 165A
Environmental Impact Analysis
Fall 2012
Chemistry 1179
Tues. and Thurs. 3:30 – 4:45 p.m.
David Stone, Lecturer e-mail:
Greg Mohr, Guest Lecturer e-mail
OFFICE: Bren 4021
OFFICE HOURS: Tues\Thurs. 4:45 – 5:45
Four objectives of this course are to provide:
1. The technical basis for undertaking environmental impact assessment.
2. A strategic overview of environmental impact assessment – how does it fit into the urban planning, resource management, and decision-making process at all levels.
3. Fundamental familiarity, understanding and application of environmental impact assessment in a variety of geographic and political settings; and
4. Basic knowledge of potential biases and challenges to objective environmental assessment.
Texts:
Bass, R. E., Herson, A. I, and Bogdan K. M; CEQA Deskbook; 2001; Solano Press
Additional Required Reading:
Canter, L. W. Environmental Impact Assessment; 1996; Irwin/McGraw-Hill
Steiner et al. Ecological Planning (article)
County of Santa Barbara, 2008 Environmental Thresholds
Robinson and Spiekr; Nature to be Commanded….. (USGS Professional Paper 950); 1978
Recommended Reading:
Selected excerpts from published EIRs to be provided with lecture outlines.
COPIES OF ALL MATERIALS ARE IN RBR (DAVIDSON LIBRARY)
Grading:
Midterm (Tuesday November 3) 40%
EIR Critique (Due Thursday, November 15) 10%
Final Exam (Due Friday, December 14) 50%
Class Participation (Every Lecture) Make a Difference and Do Yourself a Favor
Course Schedule
Environmental Studies 165A
Date Topic Outline and Reading Lecturer
1. Thursday Course Initiation/ Introduction to Environmental DS / GM
September 27 Impact Assessment & Environmental Planning
Course Orientation/ Overview & Objectives
Reading assignments, Grading Policy
Reading:
Bass & Herson: pp 1-16, 78-80; 404
Canter: pp 1-54
Steiner et al.: Ecological Planning (on Moogle)
How did environmental impact assessment come about? Why do we do it?
Is it still a valuable tool, or does it just add to development costs?
2. Tuesday CEQA Framework- Linkages to Urban Planning, GM
October 2 Resource Management and Land Use Development
Subdivision and Map Act, MEA
California Planning and Zoning Law,
Inter-governmental coordination
Reading assignment due:
Bass & Herson: pp 17-67; 163-165, 204-207, 393-396, 404
Should a city base plans for development exclusively on the basis of environmental constraints, or should other objectives be considered?
3. Thursday NEPA and CEQA Framework and Processes DS
October 4 Project Description, Issues Scoping, Initial Study,
& Alternatives.
Reading Assignment Due:
Bass & Herson: pp 42-43; 69-122; 123-140; 303, 313-324
Canter: pp 102-143
How does a thorough, legally defensible EIR or EIS protect a
project applicant’s interests?
4. Tuesday Air Quality Assessments GM
October 9 Regulatory framework, numerical modeling
and uncertainty, global warming assessment
Reading assignments due:
Bass & Herson: pp 38, 41-43, 216, 221, 284, 316
Canter: pp 145-185
Should air quality impact criteria be based on health standards, aesthetic considerations, or some other factor?
5. Thursday Cultural Resources Assessment DS
October 11 Archaeology, History and Heritage Values
Reading assignment due:
Bass & Herson: 45; 103-105; 317
Canter: pp 435-464
Who should pay for preserving cultural resources
and archaeological investigations?
6. Tuesday Noise GM
October 16 Reading assignments due:
Bass & Herson: pp 319-320
S.B. County Environmental Noise Thresholds,
Canter: pp 304-340
Should we evaluate the noise impact that the existing environment
may have on a proposed project?
7. Thursday Aesthetics and Visual Resources DS
October 18 Reading assignments due:
Bass & Herson: pp 315
S.B. County Environmental Visual Resources
Canter: pp 467-496
Who should establish (or on what basis should define)
significant impact criteria for aesthetic issues?
8. Tuesday Geologic Assessment in CEQA GM
October 23 Reading assignment due:
Bass & Herson: pp 317
Canter: pp 248-299
Robinson and Spiekr; Nature to be Commanded
(In Reserve Bookroom)
Why do low frequency, high impact events tend to attract
greater concern compared to higher frequency, lower impact events?
9. Thursday Biological Resources DS
October 25 Setting: species and habitats
Definition of ESH
Assessment techniques
Reading assignment due:
Bass & Herson: pp 316-317
Canter: pp 343-387
SB County Environmental Thresholds
Is it appropriate to allow for biological impacts
to be mitigated off-site instead of on-site?
10. Tuesday Water Resources and Planning GM
October 30 Assessing site characteristics
Alteration of site hydrologic characteristics
Protecting Water Quality and Public Safety
Groundwater extractions, overdraft
Stormwater pollution prevention
Reading assignments due:
Bass & Herson: pp 42, 105-106, 227-228, 318-319
Canter: pp 189-243
Reader pp 227-300
Is “dilution the solution to pollution?”
11. Thursday Public Services/Infrastructure DS
November 1 Recreation, Police, Fire, Schools, Libraries
Water storage & distribution, wastewater treatment
Reading assignment due:
Bass & Herson: pp 320-321
SB County Environmental Thresholds
What is a fair contribution a developer should
make to ensure sufficient regional infrastructure?
Tuesday MIDTERM
November 6
12. Thursday Transportation/ Circulation /Parking DS
November 8 Roads and Public Transportation, Parking, Construction Traffic, Traffic Safety
Reading assignment due:
Bass & Herson: pp 321
Santa Barbara County Environmental Thresholds
Are road improvement fees appropriate mitigation?
13. Tuesday Agricultural Resources; Significance DS
November 13 Thresholds Development
Reading assignment due:
Bass & Herson: pp 42, 102-103, 138; 151-158
County of Santa Barbara Thresholds of Significance
Why should we try to preserve agricultural lands?
What methods are appropriate?
14. Thursday Land Use Compatibility / Policy Consistency GM
November 15 Basis/justification for zoning – to avoid conflicts Activities \ character of proposed use
Reading assignment due:
Bass & Herson: pp 4-5; 42; 118-119135-139, 208, 316-317
Canter: pp 343-387
Does “who came first” carry any precedence? How to assess “non-conforming” uses against proposed new use?
IMPORTANT NOTE: EIR CRITIQUE DUE THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15!!
14. Tuesday Hazardous Materials/Risk of Upset GM
November 20 Definitions, history of regulation – hazardous wastes
Frequency / severity of consequence for upset
Reading assignment due:
County of Santa Barbara Thresholds of Significance
Thursday THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
November 22
16. Tuesday Special Issues in Impact Assessment DS
November 27 Cumulative Impacts, Alternatives,
Socioeconomic Issues, Mitigation Monitoring
Reading assignments due:
Bass & Herson: pp 99-103, 107-111, 117-121, 154,
339-346
Canter: pp 499-543; 545-584; 637-651
Why are alternatives to a project so important
to appropriate project decisionmaking?
17. Thursday Light & Glare, Quality of Life, GM
November 29 Environmental Justice
Reading assignment due:
Bass & Herson: pp 42, 102-103, 138; 151-158
County of Santa Barbara Thresholds of Significance
18. Tuesday Project-Level Vs Program Level Impact Assessment DS
December 4 & Decision Making Process
Subsequent, Supplemental, Addendum Documentation
Level of detail for description and analysis
Ability to use “previous” analysis
Findings / Overriding Considerations
Environmental Accountability
Reading assignment due:
Bass & Herson: pp 56-67; 87-89;
What are some of the possible problems in reusing previous environmental assessments for a revised project?
19. Thursday Decision Makers and DS
December 6 & Environmental Impact Assessment
How much “impact evaluation” (synthesis or aggregation of environmental impact analysis) should be done for the “decision makes?”
Friday FINAL EXAM DUE
December 14 4:00 p.m. in the Environmental Studies Office
Bren 4312 (893-2968)
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