Notice Of Preparation Of A Draft Environmental Impact Report
NOTICE OF PREPARATION OF A DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT
Golden State Natural Resources
Forest Resiliency Demonstration Project
The Golden State Finance Authority (GSFA) is the Lead Agency for the Golden State Natural Resources (GSNR) Forest Resiliency Demonstration Project (proposed project) and intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the proposed project. This Notice of Preparation (NOP) initiates the environmental scoping process in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines (14 California Code of Regulations [CCR] Section 15082). The purpose of a NOP is to provide sufficient information about the proposed project and its potential environmental effects to allow public agencies, organizations, tribes and interested members of the public the opportunity to provide a meaningful response related to the scope and content of the EIR, including feasible mitigation measures and project alternatives that should be considered in the EIR (CEQA Guidelines, 14 CCR 15082[a]). The proposed project and location are briefly described below.
The proposed project is a response to the growing rate of wildfires in California, which has been exacerbated by hazardous excess fuel loads in forests, and the need to promote economic activity within California’s rural counties. The proposed project would improve the resiliency of California’s forestlands by sustainably procuring and processing excess biomass into a pelletized fuel source for use in renewable energy generation overseas. The proposed project components include the vegetation treatment activities (feedstock source); the transportation and storage of feedstock, and subsequent processing at two pellet processing facilities (one in the foothills of the Central Sierra Nevada Mountain range (Tuolumne facility) and one in the Modoc Plateau of Northern California (Lassen facility)); and the transportation of the finished product to a storage and shipping facility to be constructed at a suitable deepwater port in California for export to international markets.
The proposed Tuolumne wood pellet processing site is located at 12001 La Grange Road approximately 9 miles southwest of the community of Jamestown in Tuolumne County. The proposed Lassen wood pellet processing site is located at 551000 Rosevelt Avenue, Nubieber, CA in Lassen County. The finished pellets will be transported by rail to a suitable deepwater port at either the Port of Stockton, West Complex (Edwards Ave at Lipes Dr., Stockton CA) or the Levin-Richmond Terminal (402 Wright Ave, Richmond, CA), for transport via cargo ship.
For the full NOP and additional information on the proposed project and its potential environmental effects, please visit the project website, https://goldenstatenaturalresources.com/local-forest-resilience-projects/.
GSFA is soliciting written comments from public agencies, organizations, and individuals regarding the scope and content of the environmental document. Comments should be provided by December 19, 2022. Please send comments to:
Golden State Finance Authority
Attn: GSNR Scoping Comment
1215 K Street, Suite 1650
Sacramento, CA 95814
Email: [email protected]
Four scoping meetings for the proposed project will be held to receive comments: (1) Nov. 28, 2022, in Sonora (Tuolumne County), (2) Nov. 29, 2022, in Bieber (Lassen County), (3) Nov. 30, 2022, in Susanville (Lassen County), and (4) an online meeting to be held Dec. 6, 2022. For more information and to register for the online meeting please visit https://goldenstatenaturalresources.com/local-forest-resilience-projects/.