Regulatory Update: AB 52 Related Revisions to Appendix G of CEQA Guidelines

View of a herd of sheep carved in the rock at Little Petroglyph Canyon, Ridgecrest, California.

In early October, the California Office of Planning and Research (OPR) released the final text for the Tribal Cultural Resources update to Appendix G of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines (as required by Assembly Bill 52 (AB 52). This text reflects:

• A new resource category, Tribal Cultural Resources;
• New procedural requirements for consultation with California Native American Tribes.

How Will This Affect Your Projects?

This new language and the consideration of Tribal Cultural Resources should be incorporated into all CEQA documents. Since the resource type and the AB 52 process is new, it brings up several questions related to the identification of these resources and associated impacts, such as: What is a Tribal Cultural Resource and what specialists are qualified to identify them? What is consultation and how do I know when it begins and when it ends? What are my roles and responsibilities as a CEQA lead agency or a project proponent (or both)? How will this requirement affect my project timeline and budget?

How Aspen Can Help

Aspen’s cultural resources experts have an intimate and practical knowledge of these updates and are ready to answer your questions to help you understand the AB 52 process. We provide a variety of services depending on your needs:

• Introductory AB 52 training (1.5 hour course)
• In-depth AB 52 training (4 hour course)
• Cultural sensitivity training (1.5 hour course)
• Assistance preparing an AB 52 policy plan
• Preparation and mailing of project notification letters
• Preparation of project-specific mitigation measures based on tribal input
• Coordination of AB 52 consultation meetings and presentation of the results of cultural resources studies
• Design and maintenance of an AB 52-related GIS database
• Maintenance of AB 52 administrative records

Contact Aspen’s AB 52 and Tribal Outreach Experts: