(a) An environmental impact report shall not be certified or a negative declaration shall not be approved for a project involving the purchase of a schoolsite or the construction of a new elementary or secondary school by a school district unless all of the following occur:

(1) The environmental impact report or negative declaration includes information that is needed to determine if the property proposed to be purchased, or to be constructed upon, is any of the following:

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(A) The site of a current or former hazardous waste disposal site or solid waste disposal site and, if so, whether the wastes have been removed.

(B) A hazardous substance release site identified by the Department of Toxic Substances Control in a current list adopted pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 78760) of Chapter 4 of Part 2 of Division 45 of the Health and Safety Code for removal or remedial action pursuant to Part 2 (commencing with Section 78000) of Division 45 of the Health and Safety Code.

(C) A site that contains one or more pipelines, situated underground or aboveground, that carries hazardous substances, extremely hazardous substances, or hazardous wastes, unless the pipeline is a natural gas line that is used only to supply natural gas to that school or neighborhood, or other nearby schools.

(D) A site that is within 500 feet of the edge of the closest traffic lane of a freeway or other busy traffic corridor.

(2) (A) The school district, as the lead agency, in preparing the environmental impact report or negative declaration has notified in writing and consulted with the administering agency in which the proposed schoolsite is located, pursuant to Section 2735.3 of Title 19 of the California Code of Regulations, and with any air pollution control district or air quality management district having jurisdiction in the area, to identify both permitted and nonpermitted facilities within that district’s authority, including, but not limited to, freeways and busy traffic corridors, large agricultural operations, and railyards, within one-fourth of a mile of the proposed schoolsite, that might reasonably be anticipated to emit hazardous emissions or handle hazardous or extremely hazardous substances or waste. The notification by the school district, as the lead agency, shall include a list of the locations for which information is sought.

(B) Each administering agency, air pollution control district, or air quality management district receiving written notification from a lead agency to identify facilities pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall provide the requested information and provide a written response to the lead agency within 30 days of receiving the notification. The environmental impact report or negative declaration shall be conclusively presumed to comply with subparagraph (A) as to the area of responsibility of an agency that does not respond within 30 days.

(C) If the school district, as a lead agency, has carried out the consultation required by subparagraph (A), the environmental impact report or the negative declaration shall be conclusively presumed to comply with subparagraph (A), notwithstanding any failure of the consultation to identify an existing facility or other pollution source specified in subparagraph (A).

(3) The governing board of the school district makes one of the following written findings:

(A) Consultation identified no facilities of this type or other significant pollution sources specified in paragraph (2).

(B) The facilities or other pollution sources specified in paragraph (2) exist, but one of the following conditions applies:

(i) The health risks from the facilities or other pollution sources do not and will not constitute an actual or potential endangerment of public health to persons who would attend or be employed at the proposed school.

(ii) Corrective measures required under an existing order by another agency having jurisdiction over the facilities or other pollution sources will, before the school is occupied, result in the mitigation of all chronic or accidental hazardous air emissions to levels that do not constitute an actual or potential endangerment of public health to persons who would attend or be employed at the proposed school. If the governing board makes a finding pursuant to this clause, it shall also make a subsequent finding, prior to occupancy of the school, that the emissions have been so mitigated.

(iii) For a schoolsite with a boundary that is within 500 feet of the edge of the closest traffic lane of a freeway or other busy traffic corridor, the governing board of the school district determines, through analysis pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of § 44360 of the Health and Safety Code, based on appropriate air dispersion modeling, and after considering any potential mitigation measures, that the air quality at the proposed site is such that neither short-term nor long-term exposure poses significant health risks to pupils.

(C) The facilities or other pollution sources specified in paragraph (2) exist, but conditions in clause (i), (ii), or (iii) of subparagraph (B) cannot be met, and the school district is unable to locate an alternative site that is suitable due to a severe shortage of sites that meet the requirements in subdivision (a) of § 17213 of the Education Code. If the governing board makes this finding, the governing board shall adopt a statement of overriding considerations pursuant to Section 15093 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.

(b) As used in this section, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) “Hazardous substance” means any substance defined in subdivision (a) of § 78075 of the Health and Safety Code.

(2) “Extremely hazardous substances” means an extremely hazardous substance as defined pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (i) of § 25532 of the Health and Safety Code.

(3) “Hazardous waste” means any waste defined in § 25117 of the Health and Safety Code.

(4) “Hazardous waste disposal site” means any site defined in § 25114 of the Health and Safety Code.

(5) “Hazardous air emissions” means emissions into the ambient air of air contaminants that have been identified as a toxic air contaminant by the State Air Resources Board or by the air pollution control officer for the jurisdiction in which the project is located. As determined by the air pollution control officer, hazardous air emissions also means emissions into the ambient air from any substances identified in subdivisions (a) to (f), inclusive, of § 44321 of the Health and Safety Code.

(6) “Administering agency” means an agency authorized pursuant to § 25502 of the Health and Safety Code to implement and enforce Chapter 6.95 (commencing with Section 25500) of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code.

(7) “Handle” means handle as defined in Article 1 (commencing with Section 25500) of Chapter 6.95 of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code.

(8) “Facilities” means any source with a potential to use, generate, emit, or discharge hazardous air pollutants, including, but not limited to, pollutants that meet the definition of a hazardous substance, and whose process or operation is identified as an emission source pursuant to the most recent list of source categories published by the California Air Resources Board.

(9) “Freeway or other busy traffic corridors” means those roadways that, on an average day, have traffic in excess of 50,000 vehicles in a rural area, as defined in § 50101 of the Health and Safety Code, and 100,000 vehicles in an urban area, as defined in § 50104.7 of the Health and Safety Code.

(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 258, Sec. 118. (AB 2327) Effective January 1, 2023. Operative January 1, 2024, pursuant to Sec. 130 of Stats. 2022, Ch. 258.)