(a) The department shall provide guidance and assistance to ensure the uniform and efficient implementation of processes and procedures regulating the filing, review, approval, required modification, completion, and appeal of decisions relating to timber harvesting plans. The guidance and assistance shall comply with all of the following requirements:

(1) A plan submitter has the expectation of a timely determination under Section 4582.7 and any relevant administrative regulations.

(2) The department shall provide clearly written guidance documents that explain the regulatory process. In this context, the department shall publish a list of all information required in a plan, using the rules of the board, and an explanation of the criteria that will be used by the department to determine whether the information contained in a plan at the time of submission is adequate.

(3) The department, using the rules of the board, shall provide a checklist that if properly followed by the registered professional forester, should result in a plan that complies with Section 4582 for the purposes of filing. The department, in the implementation of an electronic plan submission program, shall incorporate procedures that address this information.

(b) In addition to the requirements in subdivision (a), the department shall issue guidance to achieve greater timber harvesting plan review accuracy and efficiency and to avoid duplication of efforts. The guidance shall include guidance to responsible agencies that rely on the timber harvesting plan for their analysis under the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000)) when the agencies are issuing a permit to enable implementation of all or part of the project. This guidance shall assist the responsible agencies to avoid duplication in information requests for the responsible agencies permits. Responsible agencies are encouraged to include mitigation measures prior to the close of public comment to ensure they are examined at a sufficient level of detail prior to the close of public comment.

(c) This section does not preclude the department or other public agencies from imposing postapproval compliance requirements as the result of newly discovered or unforeseen conditions.

(d) For purposes of this section, “plan” or “timber harvesting plan” includes all forms or documents required to be submitted to the department for review, including, but not limited to, timber harvesting plan documents, program timberland environmental impact reports, program timber harvest plans, modified timber harvesting plans, nonindustrial timber management plans, sustained yield plans, and working forest management plans.

(Added by Stats. 2018, Ch. 640, Sec. 2. (AB 2889) Effective January 1, 2019.)