COMPLIANCE INFO_FINAL INITIAL STUDY/MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION 5/25

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Memorandum 25 March 2025 Page 9 the Guidance for Valley Land-use Agencies in Addressing GHG Emission Impacts for New Projects under CEQA and a policy entitled Addressing GHG Emission Impacts for Stationary Source Projects Under CEQA When Serving as the Lead Agency (Policy).5 In 2015, the Valley Air District has adopted thresholds of significance to assist lead agencies in the evaluation and mitigation of air quality impacts under CEQA (CEQA Guidance). The Valley Air District has not established a numerical GHG emissions threshold in the absence of supporting scientific evidence. Instead, the Valley Air District recommends assessing project-specific GHG emission impacts on global climate change based on the tiered approach specified in the Policy: • Projects complying with an approved GHG emission reduction plan or GHG mitigation program which avoids or substantially reduces GHG emissions within the geographic area in which the project is located would be determined to have a less than significant individual and cumulative impact for GHG emissions. Such plans or programs must be specified in law or approved by the Lead Agency with jurisdiction over the affected resource and supported by a CEQA compliant environmental review document adopted by the Lead Agency. Projects complying with an approved GHG emission reduction plan or GHG mitigation program would not be required to implement Best Performance Standards (BPS). • Projects implementing BPS would not require quantification of project specific GHG emissions. Consistent with CEQA Guideline, such projects would be determined to have a less than significant individual and cumulative impact for GHG emissions. • Projects not implementing BPS would require quantification of project specific GHG emissions and demonstration that project-specific GHG emissions would be reduced or mitigated by at least 29 percent compared to Business as Usual (BAU), including GHG emission reductions achieved since the 2002-2004 baseline period, consistent with GHG emission reduction targets established in CARB’s 2008 Scoping Plan. Projects achieving at least a 29 percent GHG emission reduction compared to BAU would be determined to have a less than significant individual and cumulative impact for GHG emissions. The Valley Air District has not approved BPS for landfills but has identified an illustrative BPS which is listed below. Illustrative BPS: Landfills shall comply with CARB Regulation to Reduce Methane Emissions from Municipal Solid Waste Landfills. 5San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, 2009. District Policy – Addressing GHG Emission Impacts for Stationary Source Projects Under CEQA When Serving as the Lead Agency. Available at: https://ww2.valleyair.org/media/disb2jna/2-ccap-final-district-policy-ceqa-ghg-dec-17-2009.pdf