CEQA & environmental
Environmental impact report (EIR)
CEQA's full analysis document for projects that may have significant impacts; certified with findings before approval — roughly 18–30 months when contested.
Definition
The environmental impact report is CEQA's full-scope document, required whenever substantial evidence supports a fair argument that a project may have a significant environmental effect. The sequence runs notice of preparation and 30-day scoping, draft EIR with public review (45 days when routed through the State Clearinghouse), a final EIR responding to every comment, then certification. Before approval the agency must adopt findings on each significant impact and a mitigation monitoring program under the CEQA Guidelines, including analysis of alternatives and cumulative effects.
Why it matters in an underwrite
A contested EIR is an 18–30 month commitment before the 30-day litigation window even opens, and certification is the standard litigation target — petitions attack the adequacy of the analysis, not the project's merits. Underwrite the consultant scope, the responses-to-comments cycle, and a litigation reserve together; an EIR is why exemption and tiering strategies carry real option value.
Sources & related guides
See also
See the term in the law itself
Read the controlling text in the Code Library, or ask the AI how it applies to your project.
Last reviewed 2026-07-29. General information, not legal advice.