ISBR Pilot Test – Former Valley Foundry and Machine Works

2024100013

California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC)

NOE - Notice of Exemption

10/1/2024

10/1/2024

Stuart St. Clair, P.E.

Department of Toxic Substances Control

Project Manager

Lead/Public Agency

1515 Tollhouse Road
Clovis, CA 93611

(559) 297-3905

stuart.stclair@dtsc.ca.gov

36°42'35"N 119°46'25"W

East Avenue and Golden State Boulevard

47

14S

20E

15

MDB&M

2510 South East Avenue

Other

15061(b)(3)

In determining the applicability of CEQA, section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines provides that activities are covered by the “general rule” or “common sense” exemption that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Per this section, “where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA.” The subject Site, which appears on DTSC’s EnviroStor website as a State Response site, is on a list compiled pursuant to Government Code section 65962.5 (also known as the “Cortese List”). Under CEQA Guidelines section 15300.2(d), such sites are not considered eligible for CEQA categorical exemptions identified in CEQA Guidelines section 15000 et seq. However, as part of demonstrating how the project meets the criteria of 15061(b)(3), it is illustrative to reference project classes which under 15300 et seq. are generally determined not to have a significant effect on the environment, including the following: Class 6 – Information Collection; Class 8 – Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of the Environment; and Class 30 – Minor Actions to Prevent, Minimize, Stabilize, Mitigate or Eliminate the Release or Threat of Release of Hazardous Waste or Hazardous Substances. The activities involved in the subject ISBR Pilot Test Work Plan are consistent with the types of activities characterized in the three aforementioned classes of categorical exemptions. There are also no scenic highways, historical resources, or other conditions at or near the Site which would contribute to a heightened risk of potentially significant environmental impacts resulting from the proposed project. Additionally, the environmental safeguards and monitoring procedures that are enforceable and made a condition of project approval will prevent unusual circumstances from occurring so that there is no possibility that the project will have a significant effect on the environment. Further, the project will not result in cumulative impacts because it is designed to be short-term and investigative in nature and would not lead to a succession of projects of the same type in the same place over time. The Site appears on the Cortese List as a result of prior regulatory action taken by DTSC, and the subject project is specifically targeted at addressing the conditions which resulted in the Site being listed in the first place. Due to the inherently remedial nature of the pilot test and the fundamental involvement of DTSC in the proposed pilot test’s implementation, the subject project does not pose the kind of direct or indirect risks of significant environmental impacts that might otherwise occur on a Cortese List site. As discussed, the physical characteristics of the subject project are relatively limited. Additionally, oversight of the ISBR Pilot Test Work Plan by DTSC (as well as by the RWQCB) will ensure consistency with applicable state and local environmental permitting requirements. Further, this oversight will function to ensure that any risks involving migration of contaminants, water quality, or other such effects will either not occur or not amount to a significant adverse impact on the environment. Given the physical characteristics of the proposed project activities, the environmental setting in which the project would occur, and the oversight under which the pilot test would be conducted, it can be clearly demonstrated that any effects of the project will not be of a degree resulting in a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, the project meets the criteria of CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3).