TO: Napa County Climate Action Committee
FROM: David Morrison, Special Projects Director
REPORT BY: Ryan Melendez, Planner II, Sustainability - PBES
SUBJECT: Presentation from Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) on the EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grants Program
RECOMMENDATION
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PRESENTATION: Staff requests that the Climate Action Committee receive a presentation from Abby Young with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District on the EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program and how Napa County can be involved in the process.
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BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Abby Young, a Climate Protection Manager with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), will provide a presentation on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) program and how Napa County can participate in this effort
Ms. Young is the Manager of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s Climate Protection Program. During her fifteen years at the Air District, Abby has developed and overseen $7+ million in local climate protection grant programs, developed CEQA greenhouse gas thresholds of significance and guidance, and produced technical guidance and assistance programs for local governments in developing and implementing climate action plans. Prior to working at the District, Abby spent eleven years as Director of the US Cities for Climate Protection Campaign at ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, overseeing the development of training programs, software and research to assist local governments in achieving their climate protection goals.
The EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) program provides $5B in grants to states, local governments, tribes, and territories to develop and implement ambitious plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful air pollution. Authorized under Section 60114 of the Inflation Reduction Act, this two-phase program provides $250 million for noncompetitive planning grants, and approximately $4.6 billion for competitive implementation grants.
States, air pollution control agencies, municipalities, tribes, and groups of one or more of these entities are eligible to receive grant funding. The EPA provided grant funding to each of the 67 most populous metropolitan areas (MSAs). There are two (2) MSAs within the San Francisco Bay Area. The first comprises of San Francisco City and County, cities of Oakland and Berkeley, and the Counties of Alameda, Marin, Contra Costa, and San Mateo. The other comprises of Santa Clara and San Benito County. Under this designation, the North Bay Area Counties of Sonoma, Napa, and Solano are not included in the MSA; however, EPA recently approved BAAQMD’s amended workplan to include all of Napa County and the portions of Sonoma and Solano Counties that are within the Air District’s jurisdiction in the boundary of the CPRG grant. This means that a regional GHG inventory, CAP measure quantification, and other assessments being done by the BAAQMD will include these parts of the North Bay.
A “Priority” Climate Action Plan (BARCAP) is currently being developed for submittal to the EPA by March 1st, 2024. This Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) will lay the groundwork for the CPRG program implementation funding application. Eligible applicants can apply for funding for projects that implement the measures in the PCAP to reduce climate pollution or emissions. Currently, the EPA is planning to provide between around 30 and around 115 grant awards nationwide, ranging in awards between five tiers, shown in Table 1 below.
There will also be the future development of a “Comprehensive” Climate action Plan, or CCAP. This CCAP does not currently have a dedicated pool of funding for implementation from the federal government.
Two sectors were identified for the PCAP to have a high impact and help fill gaps in funding in the Bay Area: Building Energy and Transportation. Draft measures that are currently being developed in the PCAP are: 1) Holistic Building Decarbonization for Clean, Healthy and Secure Housing, and 2) Safe, Accessible, Clean and Equitable Multi-modal Transportation. Building energy and transportation sectors are both major sources of greenhouse gas emissions in Napa County according to the 2019 Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Forecast. Napa County and its jurisdictions could therefore greatly benefit from the utilization of the EPA CPRG program funding to help implement projects contributing to the reduction of emissions. Abby Young will further present on how Napa County jurisdictions will be able to participate and take advantage of this funding, provided an award is granted.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The proposed action is not a project as defined by 14 California
Code of Regulations 15378 (State CEQA Guidelines) and therefore CEQA is not applicable.