Implementing CEQA and NEPA can be daunting. This online course series is geared towards planners and any planning-adjacent professionals who are looking for a practical overview of NEPA and CEQA. The course series will cover how and when CEQA and NEPA apply to planned project, and the similarities and differences between the two regulations.

APA Los Angeles is excited to invite you to join us on a 4 course series to explore CEQA and NEPA. Registration is free. CM credits are being offered for each course.

Course #1: Intro to CEQA (Part 1), May 19. Noon to 1:00pm.

Course #2: Intro to CEQA (Part 2), June 2. Noon to 1:00pm.

Course #3: Intro to NEPA, June 9. Noon to 1:30pm.

Course #4: CEQA & NEPA: Similarities & Differences – A Comparative Look, June 16. Noon to 1:00pm.

Please use this page to register for the second course by noon on May 30. Instruction to join the course on Zoom will be emailed to you a day prior to the course. This session will be recorded and the video will be made available online several days after the event.

Course #2: Intro to CEQA (Part 2), June 2

This is the second of a 2-part course that is an introduction to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which is often used as the tool for stopping projects. In this course we will provide a general overview of CEQA, its history and purpose, define when CEQA is applicable, discuss the general CEQA process, provide an overview of the types of documents CEQA and discuss the contents of each type of document.

Course #2 Schedule Breakdown: 50 minutes instruction + 10 minutes Q&A = 1 hour

Speakers:

• Dakota Gross, ENV SP, Planner, STV: Dakota is an environmental and transportation planner, providing environmental services on major design-build projects, as well as corridor studies, feasibility studies, and alternative analyses throughout Southern California. She is skilled in preparing NEPA/CEQA clearances, environmental validations during final design, and environmental compliance documents during construction for public and private transportation infrastructure projects.
• Doreen Zhao, AICP, Planner, STV: Doreen is an environmental and transportation planner with experience working on transit and rail projects in Southern California. In addition to preparing alternatives analyses and corridor studies, she has managed project delivery and overseen the development of environmental impact report and environmental impact studies on large-scale infrastructure projects.

• Debbie Roberts, ENV SP, Senior Planner, STV: Debbie is a senior planner and project manager with more than 12 years of experience in managing and executing the planning of a variety of mixed-use, community planning, and transit improvement projects for public and private agencies throughout California. She has prepared various types of CEQA- and NEPA-related documents, including preliminary environmental studies, initial studies, land use studies and analyses, negative declarations, mitigated negative declarations, statutory and categorical exemptions, categorical exclusions, environmental impact reports, environmental impact statements, and mitigation monitoring plans.