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4 Environmental Analysis 4.7 Geology, Soils, and Paleontological Resources 4.7.1.5 Paleontological Resources Paleontological resources are the fossilized remains of plants and animals, including vertebrates (animals with backbones), invertebrates (animals without backbones), and microscopic plants and animals (microfossils), and can include mineralized body parts, body impressions, or footprints and burrows. They are valuable, non-renewable, scientific resources used to document the existence of extinct life forms and to reconstruct the environments in which they lived. Fossils can be used to determine the relative ages of the depositional layers in which they occur and of the geologic events that created those deposits. The age, abundance, and distribution of fossils depend on the geologic formation in which they occur and the topography of the area in which they are exposed. The geologic environments within which plants or animals became fossilized usually were quite different from the present environments in which the geologic formations exist. A preliminary paleontological review was made of published geologic maps, literature, and aerial imagery relevant to the Project site and gen-tie corridor. In addition, a search was performed by University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) personnel to identify previous fossil finds near the Project area using their fossil locality database (Holroyd 2022). Results of this preliminary review indicate strong potential for fossil discovery on and in the vicinity of the Project site and gen-tie corridor.All of the UCMP discovery localities were along a northwest-to-southeast trending line that parallels the Delta Mendota Canal, California Aqueduct, or Interstate Highway 580. The closest location to the Project site is more than 1 mile to the northeast, but fossils were found in the Neroly Formation at two locations, which is also present on the Project site. 4.7.2 Regulatory Setting 4.7.2.1 Federal Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act The U.S. Congress passed the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act in 1977 to address risks to life and property from future earthquakes through the establishment and maintenance of an earthquake hazards reduction program. The act established the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, which, in November 1990, was amended by the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Act. This Act substantially refined agency responsibilities, program goals, and objectives. 4.7.2.2 State California Building Code The California Building Code (CBC) is codified in Title 24 of the CFR, Part 2. The CBC establishes minimum standards related to structural strength, means of egress to facilities (entering and exiting), and general stability of buildings. The purpose of the CBC is to regulate and control the design, construction, quality of materials, use/occupancy, location, and maintenance of all buildings and structures within its jurisdiction. The provisions of the CBC apply to the construction, alteration, movement, replacement, repair, location, maintenance, and demolition of every building or structure, or any appurtenances connected or attached to such buildings or structures throughout California. The CBC would apply to structures proposed for the Project. Griffith Energy Storage Project 4.7-10 Tetra Tech/SCH 2022120675 Draft Environmental Impact Report August 2023