SU0014502 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Administrative Draft Environmental Impact Report Gill Medical Center Project a note,the CEQA Guidelines were amended in response to Senate Bill 97. In particular, the CEQA Guidelines were amended to specify that compliance with a GHG emissions reduction plan renders a cumulative impact insignificant. Per CEQA Guidelines Section 15064(h)(3), a project's incremental contribution to a cumulative impact can be found not cumulatively considerable if the project would comply with an approved plan or mitigation program that provides specific requirements that would avoid or substantially lessen the cumulative problem within the geographic area of the project.To qualify, such plans or programs must be specified in law or adopted by the public agency with jurisdiction over the affected resources through a public review process to implement, interpret, or make specific the law enforced or administered by the public agency. Examples of such programs include a "water quality control plan, air quality attainment or maintenance plan, integrated waste management plan, habitat conservation plan, natural community conservation plans [and] plans or regulations for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions." Put another way, CEQA Guidelines Section 15064(h)(3) allows a lead agency to make a finding of less than significant for GHG emissions if a project complies with adopted programs, plans, policies and/or other regulatory strategies to reduce GHG emissions. The local air quality agency regulating the San Joaquin Valley Air Basin (SJVAB) is the SJVAPCD, the regional air pollution control officer for the basin. As previously stated, the SJVAPCD has adopted guidance and policy for analyzing GHG emissions from land use development projects under CEQA. Specifically, demonstration of a 29 percent reduction in GHG emissions, from a BAU scenario is required to determine that a project would have a less than cumulatively significant impact. However, as previously described the BAU portion of the tiered approach is problematic based on the 2015 California Supreme Court Newhall Ranch decision,which stated that an GHG-related impact determination based on the BAU approach is "not supported by a reasoned explanation based on substantial evidence." Additionally, the SJVAPCD thresholds were adopted to achieve statewide GHG-reduction goals for the year 2020, and the Proposed Project would not be built until after the year 2020. The significance of the Project's GHG emissions is evaluated consistent with CEQA Guidelines § 15064.4(b)(2) by considering whether the Project complies with applicable plans, policies, regulations and requirements adopted to implement a statewide, regional, or local plan for the reduction or mitigation of GHG emissions. The County General Plan has established GHG reduction goals for 2035 and 2050. To achieve these goals the County has adopted policies, programs, and reduction strategies in the General Plan.Additionally, the projected regional development pattern in the SJCOGRTP/SCS, including location of land uses and residential densities in local general plans, when integrated with the proposed regional transportation network identified in the RTP/SCS, would reduce per capita vehicular travel— related GHG emissions and achieve state-mandated GHG reduction per capita targets for the SJCOG region. Thus, the Project is compared for consistency with both the County General Plan and SJCOGRTP/SCS in order to determine its GHG-related impact. 4.10.3.2 Methods of Analysis Onsite construction (including worker commutes and vendors), operational area source, and energy source, water/wastewater pumping, and solid waste hauling and decomposition emissions were modeled Greenhouse Gas and Climate Change 4.10-9 October 2021