Calbiogas West Visalia LLC, Encroachment Permit Amendment to Indemnification Agreement 29827
Summary
SCH Number
2024050708
Public Agency
Tulare County
Document Title
Calbiogas West Visalia LLC, Encroachment Permit Amendment to Indemnification Agreement 29827
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
5/15/2024
Document Description
The proposed action is an indemnification agreement between the County of Tulare and Calbiogas West Visalia LLC. Calbiogas is proposing to add a gas line in Tulare County Rights of Way for 3.0 miles in total. This indemnification agreement is to protect the County from any liability that may occur due to construction activities. The beneficiaries of the project will be the people of Tulare County because the Confined Animal Confinement Facilities Plan and Dairy Feedlot Climate Action Plan (Aug 2017) Environmental Impact Report Impact 3.7.1 requires feasible project specific GHG reduction measures including in Category B of these measures in Chapter 6 of the ACFP, “biodigesters”. Digested gases are further transported to create energy. This is already a mitigation measure, which requires reduced analysis from CEQA.
This is also included in the Short-Live Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy March 2017 California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resource Board, Methane Emission Reductions from Dairy Manure strategy, to wit:
4) Retain existing manure lagoon management with onsite covered lagoon digestion, and convey biogas to a central location (cluster) via low-pressure collector pipeline for biogas clean-up to produce:
a) electricity or
b) pipeline-injected renewable natural gas vehicle fuel.“ As such, the proposed Activity/Project would result in implementation of these measures which would provide a benefit by reducing GHG-related emission. Further, GHG-related emissions during construction-related activities would be short term and temporary in duration. This process includes biogas from participating dairies entering a facility through a Main Pipeline, which will then be blended with the biogas being piped from the existing bio-digesters, and then the two biogases will be piped into a Biogas Cleanup Area. The citizens of Tulare County (and the San Joaquin Valley Air Basin) will benefit as the project will capture biomethane emissions from dairy lagoons (which will be covered by each of the participating dairies to capture the biomethane) and then transported via pipeline to facilities where the dairy biogas and the biogas from the existing digesters are blended and then piped to a biogas cleanup area where it is scrubbed and then utilized on site to be used to fuel turbines that generate clean energy.
Contact Information
Name
Reed Schenke
Agency Name
County of Tulare, Public Works
Job Title
RMA Director
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Location
Cities
unincorporated area, Visalia
Counties
Tulare
Regions
Unincorporated
Other Location Info
Avenue 328, north of the city of Visalia, 3.0 miles of encroachment
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Other
Type, Section or Code
Common Sense Rule: CEQA guidelines 15061(b)(3)
Reasons for Exemption
The activity/project is consistent with Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) because the activity/project is undergrounded pipelines to convey gas from digesters to be cleaned and used to create energy. Further, the activity/project will be required to comply with permitting, regulations, etc., from any entity with jurisdictional authority as applicable. There are existing hundreds of miles of pipeline within the County, which has resulted in the County being consistent with its Greenhouse Gas pipeline reduction goals. Therefore, it can be reasonably concluded that proposed activity/project is exempt from California Environmental Quality Act as a commonsense exemption consistent with its General Plan, Zoning, and Rights of Way Ordinance.
County Clerk
Tulare
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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