UC Law Journal
Abstract
The California Environmental Quality Act was enacted to prevent unnecessary environmental degradation and encourage citizen involvement in environmental protection. One of CEQA's most important means to accomplish this purpose is the environmental impact report, which requires state agencies to respond to public concerns regarding the significant environmental effects of proposed projects before they may be begun. An important exception to the EIR requirement is the exemption for timber harvesting. Although the exemption of timber harvesting is required by law to meet the standards of CEQA, this Note argues that it fails to do so. The Note contends that this exemption from the EIR requirement violates the due process right of California citizens to be free from arbitrary adjudicative procedures and calls upon the legislature and the courts to respond to the inadequacy of the timber harvest approval process. Only if the deficiencies are responded to will the citizens of this state be given the ammunition they need to fight the irreversible loss of our forests.
Recommended Citation
Ruth McLay,
The Timber Harvest Plan Exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act: Due Process and Statutory Intent,
41 Hastings L.J. 727
(1990).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_law_journal/vol41/iss3/6