BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
Government Code ? 84308 Applies: Yes ? No ?
(If "YES" Complete Attachment A - Gov. Code ? 84308)
SUBJECT: Title
Santa Clara Valley Water District Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan and Final Negative Declaration.
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RECOMMENDATION: Recommendation
A. Discuss the potential environmental effects of Santa Clara Valley Water District's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan as discussed in the Final Negative Declaration;
B. Adopt the Resolution ADOPTING THE FINAL INITIAL STUDY/NEGATIVE DECLARATION FOR THE GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION PLAN; and
C. Adopt the Resolution ADOPTING THE GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION PLAN, INCLUDING A CARBON NEUTRALITY TARGET OF 2045 AND ASSOCIATED EMISSIONS REDUCTION MEASURES.
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SUMMARY:
Santa Clara Valley Water District's (Valley Water) 2021 Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) established goals, strategies, and actions to support climate adaptation and ongoing reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. As recommended in the CCAP, Valley Water developed a CEQA-qualified Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan (GHGRP; Attachment 1) which aims to reduce Valley Water's emissions, achieve carbon neutrality by 2045, and streamline GHG CEQA analyses for future Valley Water projects that are consistent with the GHGRP.
The GHGRP has been prepared in accordance with CEQA Guidelines Section 15183.5, which allows a public agency to analyze and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions through a qualified greenhouse gas reduction plan, and to use that plan to support tiering and streamlining of greenhouse gas analyses for later projects. To serve this purpose, the plan must quantify existing and projected greenhouse gas emissions within a defined geographic area; establish, based on substantial evidence, an emissions level below which covered activities would not result in a cumulatively considerable greenhouse gas impact; identify and analyze emissions from anticipated actions or categories of actions; specify measures, including performance standards, t...
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