Comment Log Display

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Sonoma County
Transportation Authority (SCTA) and Regional Climate Protection
Authority (RCPA), I am writing to provide comments on the
Cap-and-Trade Auction Proceeds Investment Plan Draft Concept Paper
and express support for integrated, local investments in
sustainable communities.

The RCPA was created to provide coordination on local efforts to
address energy efficiency, transportation, renewable energy,
resiliency strategies, and long-term planning among the County of
Sonoma, all nine cities, and other public agencies in Sonoma
County. The RCPA is overseen by the same board as the SCTA,
allowing us to leverage existing transportation planning capacity
and maximize the effectiveness of local greenhouse gas reduction
programs.

We believe that local governments and regional collaboration on
emissions reduction programs have important roles to play in
achieving the state’s GHG reduction targets. Achievements in Sonoma
County are evidence of the capacity that local actors have to
implement innovative and aggressive programs that achieve
demonstrable GHG reductions:

•	Sonoma County and all its nine cities – in conjunction with the
local non-profit Climate Protection Campaign – adopted a community
target to reduce emissions to 25% below 1990 levels by 2015.
•	The Sonoma County Water Agency - the single largest energy user
in the County - adopted a goal to be Carbon Free by 2015 and via
renewable energy and energy efficiency projects has reduced
emissions by 97% since adopting this goal.
•	The County has established the Sonoma County Energy Independence
Program (SCEIP), a PACE program that has financed more than 1,800
projects totaling nearly $60 million in improvements.
•	The County recently approved the formation of the joint powers
authority for Sonoma Clean Power, a Community Choice Aggregation
program.
•	The RCPA has led efforts in implementing energy efficiency,
renewable energy, and climate action programs, ensuring that both
small and large governments can engage in GHG reduction efforts in
a meaningful way and harness efficiencies by collaboration at a
regional scale.

 
•	The RCPA has established innovative programs such as the Windsor
Pay As You Save (PAYS®) on-water-bill financing program that allows
residents to address water and energy costs at very low-risk and
the Energy Upgrade California Flex Path which aims to transform the
market for whole-home retrofits. 
•	The SCTA has led the way with innovative transportation programs
such as WeGo Sonoma, a real-time ridesharing program that links
riders and drivers to reduce single occupant vehicle use. 

These projects have created multiple benefits for our communities:
GHG reductions, cleaner air, reduced energy, water, and
transportation costs, improved public health, and local jobs.
However there is much more work to be done in Sonoma County and at
a local level throughout California. 

Therefore, we strongly believe that a portion of cap-and-trade
revenues should be dedicated to a local government emissions
reduction program that will enable regional and local agencies to
deliver the kinds of projects that will be needed for the state to
meet its goals, including energy efficiency, water  efficiency,
distributed generation, conservation, urban forestry, and other
natural resource investments. 

We also believe that auction proceeds derived from transportation
fuels should be allocated to transportation projects that reduce
GHGs while addressing critical transportation system needs, which
is why we signed a letter in support of the Transportation
Coalition for Livable Communities proposal. We strongly support
their call for flexibility in allowing local agencies to develop
the most-cost effective projects to meet critical transportation
infrastructure and maintenance needs and achieve their greenhouse
gas reduction goals in a manner consistent with regional
Sustainable Communities Strategies. 

In closing, we would like to highlight several aspects of the
concept paper that we urge you to further develop and consider
specifically when crafting  the final Investment Plan:

1.	Integrated solutions to transportation emissions that address
mobility, infrastructure, and land-use create multiple co-benefits
to our communities while addressing the largest contributor to GHGs
(pages 10 and 15)
2.	Financing and on-bill repayment are essential tools for driving
commercial and residential energy and water efficiency projects and
renewable energy projects (page 10)
3.	Nearly all of the near-term strategies called out in Figure 9:
Examples of Potential Projects for Investment through 2020 can be
implemented at a local government level (page 12)
4.	“Funding should leverage private and other government investment
to the maximum extent possible”; existing local government
emissions reduction programs and regional SCS planning processes
provide excellent vehicles to leverage other investment. (page 15)

Thank you for consideration of our comments.

Sincerely,
Suzanne Smith
Executive Director, SCTA/RCPA