AHAM’s bathroom exhaust fan testing and certification program as an alternative procedure for Energy Code compliance
Summary
SCH Number
2026030563
Public Agency
California Energy Commission
Document Title
AHAM’s bathroom exhaust fan testing and certification program as an alternative procedure for Energy Code compliance
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
3/12/2026
Document Description
The California Energy Commission (CEC) adopts and regularly updates regulations for new construction, additions, and alterations to residential and nonresidential buildings, which are contained in California Code of Regulations, Parts 1 and 6 (the California Energy Code). These regulations go through an extensive public process and are adopted at a CEC business meeting before going into effect.
Part 1 of the Energy Code includes administrative regulations for implementation. In certain circumstances, interested parties or the CEC may identify alternative procedures that meet the minimum requirements of the Energy Code, but that require additional regulatory action to ensure compliance and consistency with the Energy Code. In these situations, section 10-109(h) of the 2025 Energy Code states that “In addition to the procedures and protocols identified in Sections 10-109(c), 10-116 and the Reference Appendices, the CEC may authorize alternative procedures that demonstrate compliance with Part 6.
Contact Information
Name
Anushka Raut
Agency Name
California Energy Commission
Job Title
Air Pollution Specialist
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Location
Counties
Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo, Yuba
Regions
Statewide
Other Location Info
Statewide
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Other
Type, Section or Code
Common Sense (Sec. 15061(b)(3)).
Reasons for Exemption
A “project” under CEQA is defined as the “whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment” (CCR, Title 14, section 15378(a)). The CEC’s findings regarding AHAM’s application do not constitute a “project” under CEQA since it is not an activity that may cause a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change to the environment.
In its findings approving AHAM’s application to establish an alternative procedure, the CEC does not change the minimum requirements of the 2025 Energy Code. Instead, CEC is approving a voluntary alternative compliance pathway that guarantees, at least, the same action as already required by the regulations. The CEC’s actions in approving an application on its own do not amount to actions that may cause a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change to the environment, as provided by the CEQA definition for a “project” (CCR, Title 14, section 15378(a)). Accordingly, the CEC’s actions are not a “project” for purposes of CEQA.
Even if considered a project under CEQA, the CEC’s approved findings in accordance with section 10-109(h) are exempt from CEQA under the Common-Sense Exemption. The Common-Sense Exemption states that, “Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA” (CCR, Title 14, section 15061(b)(3)).
A “significant effect on the environment” is defined as a “substantial, or a potentially substantial, adverse change” in the environment, and does not include an economic change by itself (Public Resources Code, section 21068; CCR, Title 14, section 15382).
The Common-Sense Exemption would apply as it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the CEC’s findings regarding AHAM’s applications will have a significant effect on the environment (CCR, Title 14, sections 15061(b)(3) and 15061(a)). As discussed above, the findings regarding this application confirm that AHAM’s alternative procedure meets, at a minimum, the requirements in the 2025 Energy Code. It does not require any particular project or design to engage in any activity that was not already evaluated during the 2025 Energy Code rulemaking, which published an initial study and negative declaration for the 2025 Energy Code as a whole. For these reasons, the CEC’s approval of AHAM’s application for an alternative procedure is not subject to CEQA under the Common-Sense Exemption, section 15061(b)(3).
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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