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This site is produced by the Caltrans Division of Environmental Analysis (DEA) and Division of Local Assistance (DLA).
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Last Updated: Monday, January 11, 2010 9:41 AM
Standard Environmental Reference
- 01-07-10: SER Chapters 35,36,37 have an updated link to the State Clearinghouse and Planning Unit website regarding the 2010 increase to CEQA Document Filing Fees.
- 10-19-09: SER Chapter 38 has been revised. Guidance on Charging Practices has been updated to more strongly clarify that the Pilot Program Special Designation 6DELE and Pilot Program WBS codes are to be used only for Section 6005 Pilot Program activities, and to add participation in Pilot Program self assessments to the activities that may be charged to the Special Designation. Assignment language required for stand-alone Section 4(f) evaluations on Section 6004 CE projects has been added to the Section 4(f) section of Chapter 38.
- 10-05-09: A link to the FHWA Memo regarding Interim Guidance Update on Mobile Source Air Toxic Analysis in NEPA Documents, dated September 30, 2009, has been posted under SER Policy Memos.
- 09-08-09: Title VI Policy Statement: updated by Caltrans Director Iwasaki on August 25, 2009.
- 09-15-09: A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the CA Department of Transportation, US Army Corps of Engineers and US Department of Agriculture Forest Service has been established on Compensatory Mitigation for Transportation Projects on National Forests in California.
- 08-12-09: SER Chapters 31, 37, and 38 have been revised to reflect a change in the definition of Complex Environmental Assessments.
What is the SER? The Standard Environmental Reference (SER) is an on-line resource to help state and local agency staff plan, prepare, submit, and evaluate environmental documents for transportation projects. The SER contains information appropriate to all transportation projects developed under the auspices of Caltrans, and to all local agency highway or local streets and roads projects with funding or approvals by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
The SER includes:
- Caltrans Environmental Handbooks ,
including:
- Vol 1: Guidance for Compliance - NEPA and CEQA documentation; a general technical resource for planners; and a compendium of applicable federal and State laws and regulations
- Vol 2: Cultural Resources - For archaeologists, historians and other cultural resources specialists
- Vol 3: Biological Resources - For biologists and other natural resources specialists
- Vol 4: Community Impacts Assessment - Environmental Justice and other community issues
- Other guidance documents,
including:
- Guidance for Biological Consultants
- Identifying Historic Landscapes
- Env. Justice Checklist and Guidance
- Forms, templates and graphics used
during the environmental process, including:
- Preliminary Environmental Analysis Report (PEAR) Report Format and Guidance - Tools you need to complete an initial environmental evaluation of a project.
- Preliminary Environmental Study (PES) Form - A link to the Local Assistance Program Manual and step-by-step instructions to help local agency staff through the early stages of environmental analysis.
- Standard Level-of-Service (LOS) graphics for your environmental document.
- Policy Memos that relate to the environmental process.
- Topics Matrices - A fast way to link to key information for major technical issues.