New CEQA Guidelines for Greenhouse Gases

The Bay Area's air pollution regulatory agency may approve in January the nation's first guidelines to limit greenhouse gas emissions for new developments, but it would be up to local governments to enforce them.

December 7, 2009, 5am PST | Irvin Dawid

The thrust of the new California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines appears to prevent sprawl-type development in the Bay Area if cities and counties adopt them. Recent lawsuits by Attorney General Brown may cause them to do just that.

"The Bay Area's air pollution district is proposing the nation's first-ever guidelines for when projects would produce enough global warming gases to warrant an environmental review of ways to reduce them."

"We want to make sure development minimizes its impact on greenhouse gases," said Harry Hilken, director of planning for the nine-county Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

"The state has passed legislation with goals to reduce these emissions in several sectors, but there has been a big void about how to get new development to contribute its fair share", he said.

Thanks to MTC-ABAG Library

Full Story:

Bay Area pollution district eyes first guidelines for reducing global warming

Published on Wednesday, December 2, 2009 in Contra Costa Times