User:Brandon Liddell/sandbox/GHG CEQA/

=Under Construction=

Why- climate change, AB 32, executive orders, RPS
Greenhouse gas emissions were not required to be analyzed as an impact to the environment when CEQA was originally adopted. Several scientists have since attributed greenhouse gases to climate change and resulting negative impacts to humans and the environment (1). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a report in 2007 stating that human activities are responsible for increased temperatures, etc XX (2). As a result of these assessments, the California Legislature passed Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 that mandated greenhouse gas emissions be reduced to 1990 levels by 2020 (3). Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Executive Order S-3-05 in June of 2005 that declared California is vulnerable to climate change impacts resulting in loss of Sierra snowpack for water supply and rising sea levels threatening coastal real estate and habitat (8). He also signed Executive Order S-21-09 in September of 2009 requiring 33% of electricity sold in the California come from renewable resources by 2020 to curb greenhouse gas emissions (5). This assembly of legislation and evidence of environmental impact led to California enacting requirements for lead agencies to consider greenhouse gas emissions in their CEQA reviews.

When and history of CEQA incorporation, 15064.4
California Office of Attorney General sent several comment letters to lead agencies urging them to consider greenhouse gas emissions during their CEQA review (4). Senate Bill 97 required the Governors Office of Planning and Research to develop and recommend new guidelines to analyze greenhouse gas impacts under CEQA (6). California’s Natural Resources Agency adopted new guidelines on December 31, 2009, requiring lead agencies to analyze greenhouse gas emissions under section 15064.4 during their CEQA review through California (6)(9).

What is regulated- 6 green house gases
The major category of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from human activities is carbon dioxide. Several other primary gases also include methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, perfluorocarbons, and hydrofluorocarbons (7).

Who make rules- CARB and APCDs
The State Air Resources Board or California Air Resources Board is the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of greenhouse gas emissions under AB32.

California's thirty-five local air pollution control districts (APCD's) and air quality management districts (AQMD's) are the agencies primarily responsible for regulating stationary sources of air pollution. These air districts traditionally provide guidance to lead agencies, such as counties, on the evaluation of air pollutants under CEQA.

3.1.2 GHG analysis approach introduction
The Lead Agency is the public agency which has the principal responsibility for approving a proposed project. The Lead Agency determines which type of environmental document will be prepared (MND, EIR, etc.) and has discretion to adopt significance criteria more conservative than those required by CEQA.

Explanation of lead agency’s discretion on analysis approach
§15064.4 provides a lead agency discretion to determine which type of analysis approach to utilize for a given project level GHG analysis:

“(1) Use a model or methodology to quantify greenhouse gas emissions resulting from a project, and which model or methodology to use. The lead agency has discretion to select the model or methodology it considers most appropriate provided it supports its decision with substantial evidence. The lead agency should explain the limitations of the particular model or methodology selected for use; and/or

(2) Rely on a qualitative analysis or performance based standards.”

Significance criteria by various lead agencies
The Lead Agency is charged with making a good-faith effort to “describe, calculate, or estimate the amount of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from a project.”

Bay Area Air Quality Management District
BL

South Coast Air Quality Management District
The South Coast Air Quality Management District significance of project-related GHG emissions is determined through a tiered analysis process. If a project is not categorically or otherwise exempt, and if it cannot be shown that the GHG emissions from the project are within GHG budgets in approved regional plans, then project applicants are required to show that the project GHG emissions are below, or mitigated to less than, the following significance screening level: •10,000 metric tons of CO2e per year for industrial projects; or •3,000 metric tons of CO2e per year for commercial or residential projects.

Sources of impacts
Direct greenhouse gas sources resulting from a project are typically generated from transportation of materials to the project site and petrol based equipment used during construction of the project itself (7). Land use conversion can reduce vegetation sequestration of carbon dioxide (7).

Lifecycle analysis of GHG includes the full aggregate quantity of GHG generated from the extraction, production, distribution and use of energy or fuel (10). If a lead agency had to complete a GHG lifecycle analysis under CEQA, they would have to quantify GHGs produced not only within the spatial boundary of the project site, but GHGs generated from transportation of products to the site and product supply chain production emissions. Several of these energy emissions could be produced overseas leading to difficulty by the lead agency in verification and enforcement of emission thresholds. CEQA guidance currently does not require lifecycle analysis of GHG emissions since the term is not well defined and too speculative (11). If any portion of the analysis is considered speculative by the lead agency and not supported by defendable and quantifiable scientific evidence, the impact must be eliminated pursuant to CEQA Guidelines 15145 (12).

Mitigation of impacts
Lead agencies can implement several different mitigation measures to offset or reduce GHG emissions. Car pooling, electrification of heavy equipment, planting trees, Renewable Energy Certificates, Climate Action Reserve, Voluntary Carbon Standard.