U.C. Davis School of Law Hosts “CEQA at 50” Conference on April 16th

Virtual Event Commemorates Past, Predicts Future of the California Environmental Quality Act

Now a half-century old, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) remains California’s most important, cross-cutting and controversial environmental law.  Originally patterned on the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act, CEQA has over the decades become a more powerful law than its federal counterpart.  And while numerous other states have adopted their own “little NEPA” statutes, CEQA is the strongest such law in the nation: in addition to informing decision-makers, the media and interested members of the public of the projected adverse environmental impacts of proposed state and local projects, CEQA requires government officials to mitigate or avoid those impacts to the maximum extent feasible.

This Friday, the U.C. Davis School of Law’s California Environmental Law & Policy Center will host a day-long, virtual conference commemorating CEQA’s 50th anniversary.  The event, which is free and available to all, has four main goals: to assess and reflect on CEQA’s first 50 years; to analyze some of the most controversial, current CEQA issues–housing, climate change and underserved communities; to identify perceived shortcomings and potential reforms to the law; and to predict how CEQA is likely to evolve in the coming decades.

Friday’s conference brings together an auspicious set of speakers.  The program includes keynote addresses by California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye and California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot.  Numerous conference panels will feature a wide array of CEQA experts including government, public interest and private CEQA attorneys, judges, journalists, builders, legislative representatives and academics.

This online conference is scheduled from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Friday, April 16th.  There is no cost to attend, and California attorneys can receive 7 hours of free continuing education legal credits.  Those interested in attending may register here.

The full conference program can be found here.

We hope to see you at U.C. Davis School of Law’s “CEQA at 50” conference this Friday!

California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, California Environmental Law & Policy Center, California Environmental Quality Act, California Secretary for Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot, NEPA, U.C. Davis School of Law