2014-069 - Final Environmental Impact Report No. 2014-01

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HARBOR BLVD. MIXED USE TRANSIT CORRIDOR PLAN FINAL FIR CITY OF SANTA ANA 5. Environmental Analysis GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS GHG -2 Conflict with an applicable plan, policy or regulation adopted for the purpose of reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases. South Coast Air Quality Management District SCAQMD has adopted a significance threshold of 10,000 metric tons (MTCO2C) per year for permitted (stationary) sources of GHG emissions for which SCAQMD is the designated lead agency. To provide guidance to local lead agencies on determining significance for GHG emissions in their CEQA documents, SCAQMD has convened a GHG CEQA Significance Threshold Working Group (Working Group). Based on the last Working Group meeting (Meeting No. 15) in September 2010, SCAQMD is proposing to adopt a tiered approach for evaluating GHG emissions for development projects where SCAQMD is not the lead agency: ■ Tier 1. If a project is exempt from CEQA, project level and cumulative GHG emissions are less than significant. ■ Tier 2. If the project complies with a GHG emissions reduction plan or mitigation program that avoids or substantially reduces GHG emissions in the project's geographic area (i.e., city or county), project level and cumulative GHG emissions are less than significant. For projects that are not exempt or where no qualifying GHG reduction plans are directly applicable, SCAQMD requires an assessment of GHG emissions. SCAQMD is proposing a "bright line" screening level threshold of 3,000 MTCO2C annually for all land use types or the following land- use - specific thresholds: 1,400 MTCO2e for commercial projects, 3,500 MTCO2C for residential projects, or 3,000 MTCO2e for mixed use projects. This bright line threshold is based on a review of the Governor's Office of Planning and Research database of CEQA projects. Based on their review of 711 CEQA projects, 90 percent of CEQA projects would exceed the bright line thresholds identified above. Therefore, projects that do not exceed the bright line threshold would have a nominal, and therefore, less than cumulatively considerable impact on GHG emissions: ■ Tier 3. If GHG emissions are less than the screening level threshold, project level and cumulative GHG emissions are less than significant. ■ Tier 4. If emissions exceed the screening threshold, a more detailed review of the project's GHG emissions is warranted. SCAQMD has proposed an efficiency target for projects that exceed the screening threshold. The current recommended approach is per capita efficiency targets. SCAQMD is not recommending use of a percent emissions reduction target. Instead, SCAQMD proposes a 2020 efficiency target of 4.8 MTCO2e per year per service population (MTCO2C /year /SP) for project level analyses and 6.6 MTCO2e /year /SP for plan level projects (e.g., program level projects such as general plans). Service population is defined as the sum of the residential and employment populations provided by a project. The per capita efficiency targets are based on the AB 32 GHG reduction target and 2020 GHG emissions inventory prepared for CARB's 2008 Scoping Page 5.5 -12 PlaceWorkr