(1982) 135 Cal.App.3d 428

The Court of Appeal held that, once a lead agency has certified and adopted an EIR, the agency cannot change the document’s conclusions regarding the significance of environmental impacts without substantial evidence supporting such changes. The respondent board of supervisors had, after certification of an EIR concluding that a development project would result in significant environmental impacts on agricultural land, substituted its own judgment for that of staff with respect to the significance of the impact, and had concluded that the impact was less than significant. There was no substantial evidence, however, supporting this change in the impact classification. [RMM Counsel of record: Michael H. Remy and Tina A. Thomas]