Yurok Tribe EV Infrastructure Plan and Workforce Development
Summary
SCH Number
2025031010
Public Agency
California Energy Commission
Document Title
Yurok Tribe EV Infrastructure Plan and Workforce Development
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
3/25/2025
Document Description
This project will expand electric vehicle (EV) capacity on the Yurok Reservation to support the Yurok Tribal Transit Services program by (1) developing a tribal EV infrastructure blueprint that identifies feasible charging sites, (2) installing four EV direct current fast charger ports and one Level 2 EV charger port at Tulley Creek, and (3) increasing tribal workforce capacity to operate and maintain the charging infrastructure.
Contact Information
Name
Mabel Aceves Lopez
Agency Name
California Energy Commission
Job Title
Associate Energy Specialist
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Location
Counties
Humboldt
Regions
Northern California
Cross Streets
96 Owl Creek Road, Tulley Creek
Zip
95546
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Other
Type, Section or Code
CEQA Regulations, Section 15061, subd. (b)(3)
Reasons for Exemption
This project is covered by the Common Sense Exemption under 14 CCR 15061 (b) (3) which provides that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. 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.
This project consists of installing two dual-port Level 3 Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC) stations and one Level 2 charger at Tulley Creek, located on the Yurok Tribe Reservation. This project will also develop a tribal workforce training and development program that assists Members in acquiring the professional skills and licensing required to work in the EV industry.
In order for the CEC to comply with CEQA, the CEC must evaluate any impacts to land within the jurisdiction of the State of California, which is therefore limited to potential impacts of the project off of the Yurok Tribe Reservation.
This project is exempt under the “common sense” CEQA exemption because the proposed project will not:
• construct on or alter any land subject to jurisdiction of the State of California;
• impact local air quality;
• use groundwater resources or otherwise impact any water resources that might be subject
to jurisdiction of the State of California;
• build additional transportation infrastructure;
• increase vehicle miles traveled;
• increase ambient noise beyond the existing activities; or
• degrade the visual character or quality of views, including those of scenic resources or objects of aesthetic significance on land subject to the jurisdiction of the State of
California.
Because the proposed project does not provide for any physical changes outside of Tulley Creek and the Yurok Tribe Reservation, it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the proposed project may have a significant effect on the environment within the jurisdiction of the
State of California. Based on all these factors, the proposed project meets the CEQA “common sense” exemption.
The project will not impact an environmental resource of hazardous or critical concern where designated, precisely mapped, and officially adopted pursuant to law by federal, state, or local agencies; does not involve any cumulative impacts of successive projects of the same type in the same place that might be considered significant; does not involve unusual circumstances that might have a significant effect on the environment; will not result in damage to scenic resources within a highway officially designated as a state scenic highway; the project site is not included on any list compiled pursuant to Government Code section 65962.5; and the project will not cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource. Therefore, none of the exceptions to categorical exemptions listed in CEQA Guidelines section 15300.2 apply to this project and this project will not have a significant effect on the environment.