You can use public-source screening terms consistently in CEQA review
A precise term tells your reviewer which source fact you have and which project fact remains open. This glossary names the statute, agency, or production contract that owns each term. Use that owner’s wording in the source record and carry the project-specific decision into the Initial Study.
Statutes and agencies define the public-source terms
| Term | Source owner | Meaning for a source record |
|---|---|---|
| Government Code section 65962.5 list | California Legislature | A list compiled under one of the statute’s agency-specific subdivisions. Name the subdivision and the publisher that support the project statement. |
| Cortese List | CalEPA | CalEPA’s heading for data resources that provide information about facilities or sites meeting “Cortese List” requirements. A record should identify the particular resource and statutory category used. |
| EnviroStor Public Data Export | DTSC ArcGIS service | A public FeatureServer with layer 0 cleanupsites, layer 1 hazardouswastesites, and layer 2 ICEsites. The named layer and returned record define the source fact. |
| GeoTracker Sites CSV | State Water Resources Control Board | A dated statewide export from the GeoTracker program. The export date, record, and query method travel with the result. |
| Appendix G Hazards IX(d) | California Natural Resources Agency, 2018 CEQA Guidelines Appendix G | The checklist question links a section 65962.5 list fact to a project-specific significant-hazard question. Record the source fact before drafting the project analysis. |
| Appendix G Wildfire XX | California Natural Resources Agency, 2018 CEQA Guidelines Appendix G | The checklist section applies to projects located in or near state responsibility areas or lands classified as very high fire hazard severity zones and then asks four project questions. |
| Fire hazard severity zone (FHSZ) | Office of the State Fire Marshal | A Moderate, High, or Very High classification based on physical conditions that shape likelihood and expected fire behavior over a 30- to 50-year period. |
| Wildfire risk | Office of the State Fire Marshal | Potential fire damage under existing conditions, including modifications such as fuel reduction, defensible space, and ignition-resistant construction. Keep risk analysis separate from the hazard classification. |
| State Responsibility Area FHSZ | Office of the State Fire Marshal | The Office’s adopted SRA classifications and maps. The current SRA data took effect on April 1, 2024. |
| Local Responsibility Area recommendation | Office of the State Fire Marshal | An Office recommendation released to a local jurisdiction. The 2025 recommendations were released in four phases during February and March. |
| Local FHSZ designation | Government Code section 51179 | A local agency’s Moderate, High, or Very High designation by ordinance after receiving State Fire Marshal recommendations. Use the verified local ordinance or map for the project record. |
Perminal defines the response terms
These labels describe the current /api/cortese/check response. They are product-contract terms. Statutory findings come from the controlling law and project record.
| Term | Exact response meaning | Record treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Resolved input | The accepted address or coordinate after input resolution, recorded in input.normalized, input.method, and input.point. |
Compare a geocoded address with the project file before reviewing source results. |
| Locality candidate | A record returned within the configured 402.336-meter point screen. | Open the public record and establish its project relationship. |
records_returned |
The named source returned at least one record within its configured screen. | Keep the source row and every returned record together. |
no_record_returned |
The named source returned zero records within its configured screen. | Keep the source, version, query method, and source-specific limit together. |
source_unavailable |
A required request, pointer, manifest, or shard failed the source contract. | Leave that source question open and record the failed source. |
locality_candidates_returned |
At least one source returned a candidate and every required source completed. | Continue from each candidate to the underlying public record. |
no_locality_candidates_returned |
Every required source completed and each source returned zero candidates within the configured screen. | Preserve every source row and the point-screen boundary. |
input_unresolved |
The input was empty, malformed, unmatched by the Census geocoder, or an APN. | Supply an accepted address or latitude,longitude pair. |
A locality candidate is a Perminal result label. Parcel inclusion remains undetermined until an authoritative parcel or agency record establishes the project relationship.
Dates tell you different source facts
| Date or identifier | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Publication or release date | The publisher’s stated date for issuing a source, map, recommendation, or document. | The Office released LRA recommendations in four phases during February and March 2025. |
| Effective date | The date a statute, regulation, designation, or other source became operative. | The current SRA FHSZ data took effect on April 1, 2024. |
| Source version | The publisher or system identifier for the exact dataset or snapshot queried. | GeoTracker snapshot 2026-09-01-93f63469bdef. |
| Retrieval or access date | The date a person or system obtained the page, file, or snapshot. | accessed 2026-09-09. |
| Query time | The time the system ran a request against the configured source. | The retrieved_at value on a request-time EnviroStor result. |
| Review date | The date a practitioner checked the source record against the project. | The reviewer/date row in the project file. |
An access date proves when you retrieved a source. The publisher’s date or version establishes the source state.
Responsibility areas determine which FHSZ source you check
An SRA map supports an SRA classification record. An LRA project record uses the State Fire Marshal recommendation and the applicable local designation source. Government Code section 51179 gives the local agency 120 days after receiving recommendations to designate zones by ordinance. A local agency may increase a recommended severity level and may not decrease it.
Record an unresolved local-source gap as local designation not verified or not determinable from the queried sources. Use a separate local source for the LRA polygon and ordinance.
You choose the narrowest term supported by the source
Use records_returned for the result of a named source query. Use locality candidate for the nearby record sent to project review. Use source_unavailable when source coverage fails. Use not determinable from the queried sources when the records cannot answer the project question.
Reserve “listed site,” “local designation,” and significance language for the source and project evidence that establish those facts.
You use one exact term in the next source record
Choose the term that matches the source response. Write its source owner, result, date or version, and project-review boundary in the project file.
These sources let you verify every definition
- California Legislature, Government Code section 65962.5, accessed September 9, 2026.
- California Environmental Protection Agency, Cortese List, accessed September 9, 2026.
- Department of Toxic Substances Control, EnviroStor Public Data Export FeatureServer, accessed September 9, 2026.
- State Water Resources Control Board, GeoTracker Sites CSV dated September 1, 2026, accessed September 9, 2026.
- California Natural Resources Agency, 2018 CEQA Guidelines Appendix G, accessed September 9, 2026.
- Office of the State Fire Marshal, Fire Hazard Severity Zones, accessed September 9, 2026.
- California Legislature, Government Code section 51179, accessed September 9, 2026.