California Environmental Quality Act: transportation impacts: vehicle miles traveled: mitigation

The law tailors vehicle-miles-traveled mitigation analysis to nonmetropolitan transportation projects, where mitigation options and costs can differ from urban areas. It also streamlines CEQA transportation-impact review for eligible rural projects started by the end of 2031.

What the law does ​

• Requires the Department of Transportation, by December 31, 2030, to develop guidance on vehicle-miles-traveled mitigation for transportation projects in nonmetropolitan counties.
• Requires the guidance to cover mitigation costs, available direct and indirect measures, implementation barriers, coordination processes, and recommended significance thresholds for certain projects.
• Requires the Department of Transportation to publish the guidance online and add it to its Transportation Analysis Framework and Transportation Analysis under CEQA.
• Presumes an eligible transportation project has a less-than-significant vehicle-miles-traveled impact when at least 70% of it is in nonmetropolitan counties.
• Excludes projects that add general-purpose lanes to the state highway system unless a documented safety or evacuation need supports the project.
• Limits the presumption to projects whose lead agency issues an environmental impact report notice of preparation by December 31, 2031.

Who it affects ​

• State and local public agencies planning or approving transportation infrastructure in nonmetropolitan counties.
• Transportation project developers and lead agencies conducting CEQA review.
• Communities served by rural highway, road, bridge, transit, rail, bicycle, pedestrian, and other public transportation projects.

Context ​

A nonmetropolitan county is one designated under the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee's 2025 rural-status methodology.