California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) & Environmental Justice Analysis

Transcription

1 California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) & Environmental Justice Analysis Karen Frye SFPUC, Bureau of Environmental Management Yolanda Manzone SFPUC, SFPUC, External Affairs SEWG Meeting

2 Agenda 1. California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Requirements Roles and responsibilities Guidelines Analysis categories Schedule SF planning website 2. Environmental Justice (EJ) Analysis Rationale SSIP Bayview EJ relation to CEQA Analytical components Methodology Schedule Desired input 3. Q&A/Discussion 2

3 CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT 3

4 CEQA Requirements CEQA requires public agencies to consider: - Significant environmental impacts - Feasible alternatives - Feasible mitigation measures - Agency and public input Prior to taking a discretionary action to approve a project 4

5 CEQA Roles & Responsibilities CEQA Lead Agency SF Planning Department SFPUC Project Sponsor Provides Comments Public Other Agencies Permits & Approvals 5

6 CEQA Guidelines 100 detailed questions must be evaluated to determine potential impacts Evaluate the whole project - Direct and indirect impacts - Temporary construction impacts - Permanent impacts - O&M activities - Cumulative impacts - Alternatives 6

7 CEQA Categories for Analysis Land Use Aesthetics Population/Housing Cultural and Paleontological Resources Transportation/Circulation Noise/Vibration Air Quality/Odor Greenhouse Gas Emissions Wind and Shadow Recreation Utilities/Service Systems Public Services Biological Resources Geology and Soils Hydrology/Water Quality Hazards/Hazardous Materials Mineral/Energy Resources Agriculture/Forest Resources 7

8 CEQA Categories for Analysis Nesting Birds Discovered During Construction 8

9 CEQA Categories for Analysis Cultural Resources: Buried resources are common in SF 9

10 Shipwreck Discovery In Construction 10

11 CEQA Timeline Initiate CEQA Process Early 2015 Publish Draft EIR Hold Public Meetings 2016 Mid 2015 Publish Notice of Preparation Hold Public Meetings 2017 Response to Comments EIR Certification SFPUC Approval 11

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13 ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ANALYSIS 13

14 Doing Our Part to Support Healthy Communities EJ = fair treatment of all people, regardless of incomes with no one group bearing a disproportionate burden Addressing potentially disproportionate impacts = a fundamental nexus to the SFPUC sewer operations and our capital projects in the Southeast. SFPUC will be doing a proactive EJ Analysis to better quantify potentially disproportionate impacts related to our footprint in the Southeast. 14

15 Environmental Justice SSIP Bayview Work along side the CEQA process Will inform potential measures to be taken to address EJ concerns & provide recommendations to inform the SFPUC s ongoing Environmental Justice policy implementation and Community Benefits Program Example: Port of Long Beach EJ Analysis (2008) - EJ recommendations included: - increase enforcement of idling and dust-control ordinances; - develop a health mitigation fund that directly addresses health related air quality impacts 15

16 Environmental Justice EJ Relation to CEQA CEQA requires: Analysis of significant physical impacts Alternatives & possible mitigation measures CEQA does NOT strictly require: Consideration of the social and economic cumulative impacts that may result from a particular project - Many factors may contribute to disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental impacts, including: social, psychosocial, economic, physical, chemical or biological determinants. Special consideration of the public health impacts on already overburdened, disadvantaged communities 16

17 Environmental Justice Analytical Components Proactive consideration of social, demographic, economic factors on disproportionately overburdened community Establish an existing conditions baseline for the census tracts surrounding SFPUC campus in the Bayview Compare that existing conditions data to the data for the rest of the Bayview census tracts and the City as a whole Impact Analysis = to examine the planned improvements through major SSIP projects (e.g. the Biosolids Digester Facility Project, SECF upgrades, etc.) and to identify EJ measures for implementation 17

18 Environmental Justice Methodology Proactive consideration of.. Existing Conditions Data Comparison Measures for Implementation Social Economic Health Demographics Baseline Census & Communitywide Impact Analysis 18

19 Environmental Justice Schedule Initiate CEQA Process Public Notice of Preparation Publish Draft EIR Hold Public Meetings Response to Comments EIR Certification SFPUC Approval Early 2015 Mid 2015 Early - Mid 2016 Early 2017 Feb Mid 2015 Late 2015 Early 2016 Community Input: Sources, Indicators Methodology Existing Conditions Report Community Input on Existing Conditions Report EJ Impact Analysis and Recs 19

20 Desired Input Existing Sources to be Utilized: Community EJ Listening Session (SFE 2014) BVHP Community Health Assessment (DPH/SFE 2011) DPH Report on BVHP (2006) Environmental Racism Report (HR C2003) SF Indicators Project Cal EnviroScreen Example EJ Indicators to Consider: Health, ie. prevalence of asthma rates, low-birth weights, etc. Educational attainment levels Income disparities Others, local cost of living 20

21 THANK YOU. sfwater.org/ssip sfwater.org

22 DISCUSSION 22