1 / 14

Addressing Cumulative Impacts of Pollution: A CEQA Perspective

This forum explores the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and its guidelines for addressing cumulative impacts of pollution. It includes discussions on risk thresholds, thresholds of significance, mitigation plans, and concepts for developing thresholds. Presented by the Contra Costa County Hazardous Materials Commission and Greg Tholen, Principal Environmental Planner at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

tcarmona
Download Presentation

Addressing Cumulative Impacts of Pollution: A CEQA Perspective

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Addressing Cumulative Impacts of Pollution: A CEQA Perspective A Forum Presented by the Contra Costa County Hazardous Materials Commission December 4, 2008 Greg Tholen, Principal Environmental Planner Bay Area Air Quality Management District

  2. Overview • California Environmental Quality Act • District CEQA Guidelines Update • BAAQMD Risk Thresholds for CEQA • CEQA & Thresholds of Significance • CEQA & Cumulative Impacts • Concepts for Developing Thresholds

  3. California Environmental Quality Act • Identify significant adverse effects • Identify alternatives to proposed project • Avoid or mitigate significant effects • Provide meaningful public disclosure • Allow informed decisions • Applies to public agency discretionary actions

  4. BAAQMD CEQA Guidelines Update • BAAQMD CEQA Guidelines (1999) provide guidance to local agencies on air quality analysis in environmental documents • Update efforts begin December 2008, scheduled completion mid-2009 • Review existing thresholds, develop additional thresholds as needed • Develop justification and supporting evidence

  5. BAAQMD Risk Thresholds for CEQA • Cancer risk > 10 in one million • Hazard Index > 1 • Applies to new receptors locating near existing sources AND to new sources locating near existing receptors

  6. Thresholds of Significance • Identifiable quantitative, qualitative or performance level of an effect • Adopted by resolution, rule or regulation • Developed through public review process • Supported by substantial evidence

  7. Addressing Impacts Under CEQA • Changes in existing physical conditions • Significant effects caused by project to existing environment • Significant effects caused by the existing environment to the project

  8. Cumulative Impacts • When two or more individual effects, considered together, are considerable • “Cumulatively considerable” – incremental effects are significant when viewed in connection with the effects of past, current and probable future projects • Cumulative impacts can result from individually minor but collectively significant projects taking place over a period of time

  9. Mitigation Plans & Programs • Not cumulatively considerable if project complies with plan or mitigation program • Plan must provide requirements that will avoid or substantially lessen the cumulative problem in area project is located • Plan must be law or adopted by agency with jurisdiction over resources • Developed through public review process

  10. Concepts for Developing Thresholds • Plan-based • Based in science, plans sets regional path to sustainable, healthy environment • Establishes “fair-share” reductions from all sectors • Health/risk indicators • Identify significant adverse change in effect • Based on increased risk, health effects

  11. Example Risk Indicator Source: Air Quality and Land Use Handbook (CARB, 2005)

  12. Example Risk Indicator Source: Air Quality and Land Use Handbook (CARB, 2005)

  13. Levels of Impact • Project alone – effect of single project causes significant adverse change • Effect of project is cumulatively significant – incremental contribution • Effect of multiple nearby existing uses cause significant adverse impact to new project – existing environment to project

  14. Where Should the Threshold be Set at Each Level?

More Related