MAY THE CITY OF SANTA ANA REQUIRE A CONTRACTOR BUILDING A FEDERAL OFFICE BUILDING IN THE CITY TO SUBMIT AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 21-100 OF THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

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• OFFICE OF 7IiE CITY ATTORNEY ~-- OPINION. NO. 72-020 ' OCTOBER 30, 1972 SUBJECT: May the City of Santa•Ana require a contractor building a Federal Office Building in the City to submit an Environmental Impact Report pursuant to section 21-100 of the California Public Resources Code. ANSWER: No. OPINION BY: Robert C. Sangster, Deputy City Attorney ANALYSIS• The 1970 Environmental Quality Act, beginning with section 21000 of the California Public Resources Code, sets forth the requirements for Environmental I~pact Reports. Section 21151 provides that legislative bodies of local governments which•have an officially adopted•conservation element of the general plan shall make a finding that any project they intend to carry out, which may have a significant effect on the environment, is in accord with the general plan. All other local agencies shall make an Environmental Impact Report on any project they intend to carry out which may have a significant effect on the environment. In the recent case Friends of Mammoth v Board of Supervisors of Mono County, the California Supreme Court held that certain private activities, when permitted. or regulated by local government, require an Environmental Impact Report. The holding is based on subparagraph (g) of section 21000 which reads as follows: (g) It is the intent of the legislature that .all agencies ,of the State government which regulate activities of private individuals, corporations, and public agencies which are found to effect the quality of the environment, shall regulate such activities so that major consideration is given to preventing the environmental damage. Thus the Mammoth case makes the EIR requirement applicable to private activity which the local governmental agency specifically permits or regulates and which may have,•a significant effect on the environment. The construction of the Federal Building in Santa Ana is not permitted or regulated by the City of Santa Ana as concluded in a separate opinion of this off ice; the City has no jurisdiction to require the Federal government to comply with local requirements as to permits, inspections, fees, or standards. It has long been held, that when the national government is exercising its powers granted under the constitution, a state may not interfere with these powers (M'Culloch v Maryland, 4 WHEA ~ 316, 4 L.Ed. 579).. The United States may perform it's functions without conforming to the police regulations of the state (Arizona v California (1931) 283 U.S. 423). A municipality may not impose its ordinances requiring permits and inspections on a contractor building low cost ,. ~z