Healthy Soils Program Incentive Projects
Summary
SCH Number
2020050578
Public Agency
Department of Food and Agriculture
(CDFA)
Document Title
Healthy Soils Program Incentive Projects
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
5/29/2020
Present Land Use
Privately owned agricultural lands
Document Description
The Healthy Soils Incentive projects are competitive grant funded projects administered by the California Department of Food and Agriculture that provide financial assistance for on-farm implementation of conservation management practices that improve soil health, sequester carbon and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Contact Information
Name
Amrith Gunasekara
Agency Name
California Department of Food and Agriculture
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Name
Agency Name
California Department of Food and Agriculture
Contact Types
Project Applicant
Location
Counties
Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo, Yuba
Regions
Statewide
Other Location Info
Healthy Soils Incentives Projects are located across the State of California on agricultural lands.
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Class 1 Categorical Exemption, Existing Facilities; Cal. Code Regs. Title 14, §15301
Reasons for Exemption
The Department of Food and Agriculture has determined that the Healthy Soils Incentive Projects are Class 1 Categorical Exemption projects.
Section 15301 of the California Code of Regulations defines a Class 1 categorical exemption as “the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of use beyond that existing at the time of the lead agency's determination.” In the case of the Healthy Soils Incentive Projects there will be no expansion of use, as farming activities have been established practices at the project locations. A majority of the healthy soils practices incentivized through the Healthy Soils Incentive Projects are also incentivized through funding by the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service on California farms over the past 3 decades. These practices do not result in physical changes to the environment, damage to scenic resources, historic resources or create significant environmental or cumulative impacts, due to being implemented on existing farms.
This is to certify that the final environmental document, comments and responses, and the record of project approval are available to the public at the following location:
Department of Food and Agriculture
Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation (OEFI)
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
Disclaimer: The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) accepts no responsibility for the content or accessibility of these documents. To obtain an attachment in a different format, please contact the lead agency at the contact information listed above. You may also contact the OPR via email at state.clearinghouse@opr.ca.gov or via phone at (916) 445-0613. For more information, please visit OPR’s Accessibility Site.