CEQA glossary

Appendix G

A plain-language explanation of Appendix G, how practitioners use it in an Initial Study, and why its questions do not complete the analysis.

Appendix G is the CEQA Guidelines’ sample environmental checklist form that a lead agency may use as part of an Initial Study when the Guidelines’ requirements are met.

Why Appendix G matters

Appendix G organizes sample questions across environmental topics, including Hazards and Hazardous Materials and Wildfire. It gives practitioners a familiar way to identify topics for review and document the evidence supporting each checklist entry.

CEQA Guidelines section 15063 allows a lead agency to use a checklist, matrix, or another method in an Initial Study. Each entry must be briefly explained and supported by evidence or a cited information source. The same section says the forms in Appendices G and H are suggested, and public agencies may use their own format.

What Appendix G does not establish

Appendix G does not supply the project facts, source research, or analysis needed to answer its questions. Its opening note says the questions do not necessarily represent thresholds of significance, and potential impacts not listed on the form must still be considered when supported by substantial evidence.

A checked box, list result, or map classification is not a substitute for the explanation and project-specific evidence required for the Initial Study.

Primary source

Read Appendix G in the official CEQA Guidelines text. For its role in an Initial Study, see CEQA Guidelines section 15063, especially subdivisions (d) and (f). Sources accessed September 10, 2026.

Published 2026-09-10 · Last materially reviewed 2026-09-10