With apologies to my Psych 1 professor at UC Davis.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is well known to those pursuing projects in California. At our commercial ports, the CEQA process for a marine terminal project is taking up to ten years to complete – not including the subsequent litigation. With term limits at the local level, the environmental impact review (EIR) process currently outlasts the political lives of mayors, city council members and harbor commissioners. Combined, the last two EIR’s at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach were approximately 6,000 pages in length. Both projects were appealed before their respective City Councils – and both still face years of litigation, a reflection of the "can do" spirit of California.
While listening to a local public official lamenting the fact that EIR’s have become a multigenerational process in which people are married, have children, divorce, wars declared and ended, pandemic’s (or at least pandemic panic) come and go – it struck me. For those pursuing a construction project in California, the CEQA process has become something similar to the five stages of grief. Tell me if you agree.
1) Denial – This is the first reaction at the start of the CEQA process. It is a temporary defense mechanism by the project proponent. “Not my project. Mine will be different then the rest.” It is subsequently replaced by a heightened awareness of the review process.
2) Anger – After years of planning and spending millions of dollars for lawyers, scientists, engineers and community outreach, the project proponent lashes out and cries "Why me? It’s not fair. How can this happen to me? But what about my Negative Declaration?” While traveling out of state, the project manager views a commercial filled with celebrities and politicians urging people to come to California. The TV mocks them.
3) Bargaining – This is the most critical of all the stages. After years of expensive inaction and ultimately being told to redo most of the environmental review, resulting in additional delays, the project proponent agrees to "do anything.” It’s time to enter into countless “stakeholder meetings” giving everyone in the universe the opportunity to demand every possible concession that might allow the project to move forward. Eventually, the realization comes through that you can never do enough, which leads to the next stage.
4) Depression – The project manager begins to realize the futility of the struggle. They develop a "What’s the point?" attitude. All of the project preparation is followed by 45, 90, and 180 days of public notice, agency and individual notice, review and comment, public scoping meetings and notice of determinations that have now turned into years. Only the Chicago Cubs have experienced more frustration and futility. Years have gone by and the reward of inevitable litigation lies just beyond the horizon. No one is even sure if the project makes economic sense anymore. Welcome to California!
5) Acceptance – This is the final stage and can also be characterized as surrender. There is no more fighting it. It is time to throw every conceivable mitigation measure, concession, and political goodie into the mix in the hopes of final approval and to try to avoid the length and uncertainty of litigation. By this point most people involved are either retired or termed out. For those that remain, they gaze out and yearn for that shining city on the hill – Reno!