Horizon worked closely with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to develop an award-winning Program EIR for the Statewide Plant Pest Prevention and Management Program (Statewide Program). The Statewide Program has numerous objectives, including minimizing the impacts of invasive plant pests to California’s various resources; minimizing the impacts of management approaches implemented by CDFA; development of a program broad enough to apply to a wide range of management methods and pest groups in California; and public participation.

The Program EIR covers numerous existing and reasonably foreseeable species-specific pest programs for pest detection, pest eradication and containment, and pest exclusion. A variety of activities conducted and prescribed by CDFA within these programs were evaluated, including the implementation of cultural, physical (e.g., pest removal), biological (e.g., biological control agents), and chemical (e.g., pesticides) management approaches, vehicle and equipment use, and regulatory actions. Horizon developed a methodology and checklist tool to facilitate use of the PEIR for CEQA coverage and tiering of project-level activities.

The Statewide Program and Program EIR were recognized by both the California Association of Environmental Professionals (CalAEP) and the National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP) under their 2016 awards programs. The PEIR won in the categories of Outstanding Environmental Document (CalAEP) and Environmental Excellence Award (NAEP).