BAAQMD Adopts GHG Thresholds

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District recently updated its CEQA Guidelines to assist local governments in analyzing air quality impacts of proposed land use projects. The updated Guidelines seek to better protect the health and well-being of Bay Area residents by addressing new health protective air quality standards, exposure to toxic air contaminants, and adverse effects from global climate change.

The Guidelines establish thresholds for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as well as for criteria and toxic air pollutant emissions.  The GHG thresholds are based on achieving AB 32 goals for 2020 emissions and are intended to provide local governments with more predictability and legal certainty in analyzing GHG emissions.

The CEQA Guidelines also contain recommendations for analytical methodologies and numerous mitigation measures for reducing emissions. In specific, the Guidelines provide recommended approaches for estimating and reducing GHG emissions for projects, general plans, and climate action plans.

To support implementation of its updated CEQA Guidelines, the Air District developed a number of tools and resources for local governments, such as:

• Bay Area Greenhouse Gas Model (BGM) - this model uses inputs from URBEMIS, a land use emissions model, to estimate greenhouse gas emissions for land use development projects. See the links on the right side to download BGM and URBEMIS.
• CAPCOA GHG Mitigation Quantification Report - the Air District participated with CAPCOA (the statewide Air District association) to prepare this report. The report includes numerous strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and methodologies for estimating potential reductions.
• CEQA Comment Letters - The Air District's comment letters on proposed projects and plans generally provide recommendations for air quality analysis and mitigation measures.

Visit the Air District's website for more information and to download available tools and resources.