Build on your foundational CEQA knowledge in this advanced, practice-focused seminar. This course examines the preparation, review and certification of CEQA documents, with an emphasis on impact analysis, alternatives, mitigation, climate change considerations and integration with related environmental laws.
Through in-depth modules and applied case examples, you’ll strengthen your ability to produce defensible CEQA documents, coordinate across regulatory programs and navigate common compliance challenges. The seminar emphasizes best practices for preparing clear, legally sound environmental analyses that withstand public scrutiny and judicial review.

Learning Outcomes

• Apply CEQA guidelines to determine appropriate environmental documentation for projects
• Analyze environmental settings and baselines and evaluate direct, indirect and cumulative impacts
• Develop and assess project alternatives consistent with CEQA requirements
• Design and evaluate mitigation measures addressing diverse environmental topics, including greenhouse gas emissions and climate change
• Integrate CEQA review with NEPA and other environmental regulatory frameworks
• Manage public review processes, responses to comments, certification and decision-making
• Identify common CEQA litigation risks and implement strategies for reducing legal vulnerability

Skills You Will Gain

• Defensible CEQA documentation development
• Advanced environmental impact analysis
• Mitigation strategy design
• Regulatory integration across CEQA and NEPA
• Public review and administrative record management
• CEQA litigation risk reduction

Course Format and Pacing
This is an online remote learning course delivered through UC Davis CPE’s learning management system, Canvas, with a supplemental live session hosted on Zoom. The course consists of approximately 12 hours of content, combining pre-recorded lectures with a mandatory live Zoom session led by the instructor(s).