SCH Number 2020080442

Project Info

Title

Draft Environmental Assessment for Cargill, Incorporated Solar Sea Salt System Maintenance and Operations Activities

Description

This Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) analyzes the environmental impacts of the proposed continued maintenance and operation activities of Cargill, Incorporated’s (Cargill’s) Solar Salt System in Newark and Redwood City, California (Proposed Project). With respect to Cargill’s proposed Project, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) serves as the lead agency for purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). However, BCDC is exempt from typical CEQA requirements of a lead agency to prepare an environmental impact report, negative declaration, or mitigated negative declaration for Cargill’s Proposed Project because it instead implements a regulatory program that has been certified by the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency as meeting the requirements of section 21080.5 of CEQA. (See Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations section 15251(h).) Therefore, BCDC has prepared this Draft EA in compliance with its regulations implementing its certified regulatory program as codified at 14 CCR sections 11511 to 11521. Although the regulations governing BCDC’s certified regulatory program do not require that BCDC prepare an interim “Draft EA” for public consideration prior to inclusion of the EA with the permit application summary for Commission consideration of the Project at a properly noticed public hearing (see in particular 14 CCR section 11511(c)), BCDC has nonetheless prepared a Draft EA and is providing a public review period from April 30, 2021 until June 1, 2021 for the document. Written comments on the Draft EA are welcome and should be sent so as to be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on June 1, 2021, to: San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission Attn: Schuyler Olsson, Coastal Program Analyst 375 Beale Street, Suite 510 San Francisco, California 94105 Email: schuyler.olsson@bcdc.ca.gov

2 documents in project