Mitigation

​Through the planning, environmental and entitlement processes, a lead agency may adopt mitigation measures or conditions of approval to reduce a project’s air emissions. Specific guidance on construction and operational mitigation is provided on this page. Consult the SacMetro AQMD Guide to Air Quality Assessment in Sacramento County for more details.

​Construction Emissions Mitigation

All construction projects should include Basic Construction Emission Control Practices.  Additionally, projects with construction mitigation requirements must reduce emissions from off-road equipment.  Some projects may be required to reduce emissions from on-road haul trucks and pay a mitigation fee. 

​Off-Road Emissions

​Enhanced Exhaust Control Practices are the standard off-road equipment mitigation recommend by the SacMetro AQMD for on-site emissions.  When on-site mitigation does not reduce emissions below the SacMetro AQMD thresholds a mitigation fee may be included.

Contractors required to implement the Enhanced Exhaust Control Practices should take the following steps to ensure compliance.

NEW:  Starting January 1, 2017, the SacMetro AQMD requests contractors use the new consolidated Construction Mitigation Tool, which includes off-road equipment, haul truck information, and emissions calculations in one spreadsheet.  The old spreadsheets used for compliance are included in the archive section below.

​On-Road Emissions 

​For projects required to mitigate on-road haul truck emissions, use section B of the Input_Data tab of the Construction Mitigation Tool spreadsheet.  The Tool estimates on-road haul truck emissions.  See steps 2 and 4 above for submitting on-road haul truck information.

Mitigation Fees

​When a project cannot fully mitigate construction emissions by implementing off-road and on-road measures, a fee may be assessed to acheive the remaining mitigation.  Fees are adopted by the lead agency.

Currently the mitigation fee rate is $30,000 per ton of emissions (July 2017).  Each July the rate is adjusted.  A 5% administrative fee is assessed in addition to the mitigation fee.

​Operational Emissions Mitigation

​Projects that exceed the SacMetro AQMD operational emissions thresholds must mitigate the impacts using all feasible measures.  SacMetro AQMD staff recommends an operational Air Quality Mitigation Plan (AQMP) be developed, which describes how emissions from the project will be reduced.  The level of reductions needed for a project is determined in consultation with the lead agency and SacMetro AQMD staff.

​Greenhouse Gases

​Lead agencies also require mitigaton for project greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) that are determined to be significant.  Ideally a project will implement measures from the lead agency's Climate Action Plan (CAP) or Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan (GHGRP) to mitigate GHG.  If no CAP or GHGRP exists, the lead agency may require a project specific GHGRP.

​Operational Mitigation Guidance

​The Recommended Guidance for Land Use Emission Reductions (Guidance) provides a description of the most current feasible mitigation measures and corresponding emission reduction potential.  Project proponents should use the Guidance along with the California Emissions Estimator Model (CalEEMod) to create AQMPs and GHGRPs.

In general, the Guidance in effect at the time the Notice of Preparation was issued for a project should be used.  All versions of the Guidance are included in the following table. 

When proponents use Guidance earlier than version 3.0, the associated Guidance for GHG Reduction document may also be used.

In some circumstances, additional mitigation measures may be necessary and can be developed using the California Air Pollution Control Officers Association's Quantifying Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Measures, A Resource for Local Government to Assess Emission Reductions from Greenhouse Gas Mitigation.

SacMetro AQMD staff is committed to working with project proponents and lead agencies to develop AQMPs and GHGRPs.  Lead agencies typically require plans to be reviewed and adequacy confirmed by the SacMetro AQMD prior to project approval.  To facilitate this, project proponents should submit draft plans for review early in the development process.

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