Comment Log Display

The Environmental Council of Sacramento (“ECOS”) appreciates the
work done by the California Air Resources Board (“CARB”) to date to
implement SB 375.  However, it has recently become clear to us that
the currently proposed “regional targets” for vehicle miles
traveled (“VMT”) related greenhouse gas (“GHG”) reductions may be
too low, and, therefore, may be insufficient to actually implement
the Legislature’s intent in enacting SB 375, which was to decrease
VMT-related GHG emissions going forward.

Specifically, ECOS is concerned that the currently proposed “per
capita” emissions reduction targets have not adequately been
explicated or explained in the context of anticipated population
growth in the state.  ECOS recognizes that SB 375 specifically
allows the targets adopted by CARB to be specified on a “per
capita” basis.  However, that should not be interpreted to
undermine the fundamental purpose of SB 375, which is to reduce
(not merely attenuate increases in) VMT-related GHG emissions going
forward.  

The targets that are currently under consideration propose a 5-10%
reduction in per capita VMT emissions by 2020, with 2005 as a base
year. However, California’s population is expected to grow by
considerably more than 5-10% over that same time period. 
Accordingly, it appears that all of the recommended targets (when
factored with expected population growth) will actually result in
more VMT-related GHG emissions, albeit less than in the
Business-As-Usual scenario. Accordingly, ECOS requests that CARB at
least develop, disclose and put on the table for consideration,
alternative targets that would keep pace with projected population
growth to achieve actual, overall reductions in VMT-related GHG
emissions.  

ECOS recognizes and agrees that reducing VMT-related GHG emissions
through smart land use planning is necessary for the success of the
Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32). Implementation of SB
375 is a critical component in achieving AB 32’s lofty goals. 
However, to do so, SB 375 targets must be set that support and
enhance, rather than erode and compromise, the state’s achievements
in other vehicle-related GHG reduction efforts (i.e., changes in
fuels and fleet).  With regard to this point, SB 375 has often been
referred to as one “leg” of a “three-legged stool.”  ECOS would
observe that a three legged stool with two legs that reach the
ground (GHG reductions related to fuels and fleet), and a third
that does not (SB 375 targets that increase VMT-related GHG
emissions), is hardly a stable platform for achieving AB 32’s
purposes. 

ECOS’ concern is further underscored by the fact that, in enacting
SB 375, the Legislature made a policy “trade off,” allowing
exemptions under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”)
for specified project that are consistent with an adopted
“Sustainable Community Strategy” (“SCS”) meeting CARB’s adopted SB
375 targets.  The irony of the currently proposed per capita
targets is that the state’s Metropolitan Planning Organizations
(“MPOs”) will be authorized to adopt SCSs that will actually
increase VMT-related GHG emissions, yet specified projects under
the SCS will be granted relief or exemption from CEQA provisions
for environmental protection, public disclosure or informed
decision-making.  Allowing projects under an SCS that will increase
VMT-related GHG emissions to avoid CEQA’s environmental review and
mitigation requirements would appear to undermine both the
Legislature’s intent in enacting SB 375 as well as broader
environmental protection efforts in the State.

ECOS is also very concerned that the RTAC and CARB have proposed
to adopt targets requiring no VMT-related GHG emission reductions
at all for several of the smaller MPO’s in the state.  Put simply:
if these MPO’s are going to be allowed to conduct business as usual
and do nothing to contribute toward SB 375’s goal of reducing
VMT-related GHG emissions, why should they be granted CEQA
exemptions under SB 375?

ECOS is similarly concerned about the extremely low targets that
have been proposed for certain regions of the state, such as the
San Joaquin Valley.  The result of such lax targets may well be the
exact opposite of CARB’s intent: providing unintended incentives to
shift and intensify regional growth pressures and increase urban
sprawl in an area of the state that can least afford the air
quality impacts, while concurrently providing CEQA streamlining and
exemptions to the projects that will cause those same, adverse air
quality impacts. 

ECOS does recognize that the proposed draft targets incorporate
perceived fiscal, infrastructure and other constraints.  ECOS urges
CARB not to measure the “feasibility” of its SB 375 targets based
on the ability of every MPO in the state to adopt an SCS, however,
because that is not what the Legislature intended.  SB 375, by also
expressly providing for the adoption of Alternative Planning
Strategies (“APS”), demonstrates the Legislature’s understanding
that, to achieve real VMT-related GHG reductions, the targets may
have to be set too high for SCS’s to be adopted by the MPOs.  By
defining “feasible” to mean that the targets must be set low enough
for all MPOs to adopt an SCS, CARB would be ignoring the statute’s
provisions for the adoption of APS’s, where an MPO finds itself
unable to formulate an SCS that would achieve actual VMT-related
GHG emissions reductions.  

Absolute emissions reductions must be at least considered and
addressed in the final SB 375 targets release, to fulfill the SB
375 charge of achieving VMT-related GHG emissions reductions. 
Moreover, SB 375’s land use emissions reductions strategies are
long-term, requiring that the targets be revisited and updated
every four years – potentially allowing future targets to achieve
what CARB decides near-term targets cannot. Accordingly, ECOS
requests that the public release of the MPOs’ targets expressly
disclose and address the per capita targets that would be required
to reduce VMT-related GHG emissions, so that, at a minimum, the
issue is squarely on the table for future SB 375 target updates.