On Nov 6, 2024, ECOS submitted to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors a comment letter on the County of Sacramento Climate Action Plan, Final Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (SEIR).
The Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) appreciates that County staff have developed a better Climate Action Plan than its 2022 version. However, we still have major concerns that must be addressed before we can support it.
In support of the 2024 CAP, Sacramento County has prepared a Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) to analyze the potential impacts of the 2024 CAP. The Notice of Availability (NOA) of a Draft SEIR is available below. Public comments on the 2024 CAP and the Draft SEIR will be accepted until August 29, 2024 at 5:00 p.m.
The County’s goal is to complete the CAP and its associated SEIR as quickly as possible while ensuring compliance with applicable CEQA statutory timelines for public input and review.
Please note this is a change from the regularly scheduled Climate Committee meeting on Thursday Aug 15.
Wednesday, Aug 14, 2024, 6pm
Featuring Todd Smith, Planning Director, Sacramento County
2024 Draft Climate Action Plan and related Draft Subsequent EIR
Sacramento County has revised its 2022 Climate Action Plan (CAP) to address public comments, and for consistency with new statewide actions. It also includes a new greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory.
Todd Smith, Sacramento County’s Planning Director, will explain how this CAP identifies ways to meet the State’s 2030 and 2045 GHG emissions reduction targets.
Background: ECOS (along with Sierra Club and 350 Sacramento) had expressed concerns about the 2022 CAP, including lack of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The County has now prepared a Subsequent EIR to analyze the potential impacts of the 2024 CAP. The County will accept public comments on the 2024 CAP and the SEIR until August 29.
Public comments on these documents are due Aug 29, 2024.
Science Friday with Susan Scott Peterson | June 21, 2024
Are Cities Meeting Their Climate Targets? “The state of decarbonization is lopsided. It’s really imbalanced in this country,” says Hilari Varnadore, a vice president at the U.S. Green Building Council, where she oversees a national program that helps cities with sustainability goals. “We have places—cities and states—that are just really accelerating progress, big time. And then there [are] just places that it’s moving super slow.”
On January 31, 2024, ECOS submitted a letter to Todd Smith, Planning Director of Sacramento County Planning and Environmental Review, regarding the Notice of Preparation of a Subsequent Environmental Impact Report and Public Scoping Meeting for the Sacramento County Climate Action Plan.
ECOS offers two comments on the subject document, summarized below. Please see our letter for supporting information.
The Climate Action Plan (CAP) and SEIR should be complete, that is, they should show how carbon neutrality will be achieved in the County in whatever year the County believes is realistic.
We know that land use and transportation are the keys to GHG emissions reduction. Therefore, the CAP and SEIR should include alternatives or scenarios showing three levels and locations of development – mostly greenfield, some greenfield/some infill, and mostly infill – similar the SACOG’s three Pathways for our region that were discussed by the jurisdictions last summer.