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January 2008
California Oak Report
Yuba County Folly
Last April the California Oak Foundation (COF)
advised the Yuba County Board of Supervisors that the Yuba Highlands
project, a 5,100 home subdivision, was unlawful because the
environmental impact report (EIR) failed to comply with California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) oak woodlands mitigation standards.
Yuba Highlands is adjacent to the Spenceville Wildlife Refuge and Beale
Air Force Base, 20 miles from any services in Yuba or Nevada counties.
A major bone of contention is the loss of oaks from widening and paving
an existing access road through the Spenceville Wildlife Refuge.
After Yuba Highlands was approved by the supervisors, COF contacted the
California Attorney Generals office, which had already requested that
Yuba County "reject the EIR" for several deficiencies. Deputy Attorney
General Lisa Trankley responded in a letter thanking COF for bringing
this oak woodlands violation to the attention of the AG.
COF, the Department of Fish & Game and the AG aren’t Yuba
Highlands’ only critics. The Sierra Club, Friends of Spenceville
and Sierra Foothills Audubon Society filed a lawsuit challenging the
adequacy of the EIR. Most recently, the "NO On Yuba Highlands Committee" easily qualified a referendum on the project for the February 2008 primary election.
Calaveras County Showdown
The Calaveras Board of Supervisors has chosen not
to extend a year-long moratorium on general plan and zoning amendments
for new development projects. This hiatus from rampant sprawl,
including the large-scale deforestation of oak woodlands without any
mitigation worthy of the term, was the result of local citizens saying,
"enough."
For its part, COF had been prepared to take legal action against
Calaveras County during the past year for any development project
violating CEQA oak woodlands law and we continue to be vigilant.
In response to the moratorium action, the Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center
and Sierra Club Mother Lode chapter hired San Francisco based law firm
Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP. The groups’ attorneys have
sent a nine page letter to county supervisors outlining the county's
"illegal" 1996 General Plan (GP) and asking that GP and zoning
amendments for large developments be put on hold until the ongoing GP
update is completed. By approving large developments under the outdated
GP, CSERC and the Sierra Club say the county is "foreclosing" future
land use options and foregoing any potential public input.
COF fully supports CSERC and the Sierra Club. Given its woeful current
general plan and past planning record, court is the last place
Calaveras County should want to find itself.
COF Examines SPI Oak Planning
At the request of Sierra forest activists, COF has reviewed California
black oak conservation planning in several Sierra Pacific Industries
(SPI) timber harvest plans (THP). All the THPs reviewed failed to
provide enough information to determine whether or not SPI is complying
with the black oak retention requirements of the California Forest
Practice Rules. COF urges SPI to review its practices and meet the
letter and the spirit of the law for both private and public good. We
will continue to monitor this issue.
Climate Change
January 10, 2008
Director Terry Roberts, State Clearinghouse
CEQA GHG Project Manager
Governor's Office of Planning and Research
P.O. Box 3044
Sacramento, CA 95812-3044
Re: Oak Woodlands, GHG Emissions and CEQA
Dear Director Roberts:
The California Oak Foundation (COF) appreciates the opportunity to
comment on the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR)
process of developing California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
guidelines "for the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions or the
effects of greenhouse gas emissions. " COF congratulates OPR on its
meticulous overview, Climate Change and CEQA, of current GHG analysis practices.
Below are COF oak woodland responses to OPR questions regarding climate change and CEQA:
OPR Questions to Consider
1. What constitutes a new GHG emission?
A significant reduction in the existing on-site oak woodlands tree stocking and associated woody debris.
2. What is the appropriate baseline for calculating new emissions?
The existing on-site oak woodlands tree stocking and associated woody debris.
3. What makes a project GHG emissions significant?
Given that oak woodlands and other native
forests are the only components in the GHG discussion capable of both
naturally sequestering CO2 and releasing carbon if burned, the CEQA
significance threshold should be set quite low. In oak woodlands case
the so called "one molecule rule," where any impacts creating new
carbon emissions require proportional mitigation, may be appropriate.
4. Nearly every project has the potential to emit GHGs; so does every project require an EIR?
All projects impacting oak woodlands must analyze for any potential CO2
emissions and if necessary provide appropriate MND or EIR mitigation.
Moreover, CEQA requires that a GHG cumulative effects analysis must
quantify the extent and severity of area-wide oak woodland emissions
due to past, present and future projects.
5. Is the effect of climate change too speculative to be considered a significant environmental impact?
There is nothing speculative about the California forest protocols, as
demonstrated by SB 812 (2002), AB 857 (2002), California Climate Action
Registry (2005), AB 32 (2006), SB 97 (2007) and California Air
Resources Board (2007).
6. How much mitigation is enough to reduce the impact so it is not significant?Independent
of air quality impacts, biological impacts resulting from the
conversion of oak woodlands are already addressed by CEQA. The most
effective means to collectively address air quality and biological
effects is to replace impacted oak woodlands off-site at a minimum 1:1
acre ratio with functionally equivalent existing woodlands under a
conservation easement. Furthermore, these mitigation woodlands may be
used again in the carbon credit market to offset other CO2 emissions by
planting additional oaks on-site to increase carbon storage capacity.
Statewide, many oak woodlands are substantially under-stocked with oak
trees.
Summary
The Government Code, Section 65041 mandates state planning priorities
for the protection of forest lands and air quality. Oak woodlands
uniquely coalesce these priorities. COF urges the Governor's Office of
Planning and Research to swiftly implement oak woodlands GHG analysis
and mitigation criteria for CEQA review. Otherwise, unmitigated carbon
emissions from development of tens of thousands more oak woodland acres
will occur by January 1, 2010.
Sincerely,
Janet S. Cobb, President
California Oak Foundation
cc: Chairman Mary Nichols, California Air Resources Board
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