To: Board of Supervisors
From: John Kopchik, Director, Conservation and Development
Report Title: Resolution to approve Second Amendment to the Countywide Integrated Waste Management Plan’s Siting Element
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. ADOPT Resolution approving the Second Amendment to the Countywide Siting Element (CSE) in the Countywide Integrated Waste Management Plan, to add the Raven SR S1 LLC (Raven SR) organics-to-hydrogen fuel project in the City of Richmond (see Exhibit A), and making related findings pursuant to CEQA Guidelines, § 15096.
2. DIRECT the Department of Conservation and Development (DCD) staff to file a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Notice of Determination with the County Clerk and State Clearinghouse.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no impact to the County General Fund. The costs for County staff time spent on amending the CSE is covered by solid waste/recycling collection franchise fees.
BACKGROUND:
This is the second request to approve this amendment to the CSE for the Raven SR facility. Back in March of this year, DCD staff brought this item before the Board of Supervisors (Board) for approval. The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) instructed County staff that under the California Code of Regulations, the public meeting requires a 30-day notice in a local newspaper, which was done through the Clerk of the Board and posted on June 7, 2024. The County is also required to have the Board approve the proposed amendment by resolution, which is attached as Exhibit A.
Raven SR is proposing to develop a new organic waste to hydrogen fuel processing facility, which will be located on a portion of the West Contra Costa Sanitary Landfill (WCCSL) site, near the existing Golden Bear transfer station in Richmond. The feedstock for Raven SR’s facility will consist of pre-processed organic material (yard waste, food waste, food soiled paper) from the existing onsite composting facility, operated by Republic Services, also known as the Organic Material Processing Facility (OMPF). This feedstock material will be processed through a steam/CO2 reforming system and converted into purified hydrogen fuel for sale to the transportation market. The byproduct of Raven SR’s process is a biocarbon that will be primarily reintroduced into the OMPF compost operation. The City of Richmond approved the project and adopted the associated mitigated negative declaration on May 16, 2023 (Attached as Exhibit C - City of Richmond Raven SR project).
CalRecycle determined the Raven SR’s steam reformation system is a transformation process (classified as pyrolysis). Therefore, the CSE is required to be amended pursuant to Public Resources Code (PRC) Section 41721.5. Subdivision (c) of that section states that the County shall distribute the site identification and description of the proposed facility to the cities within the county and each city shall act upon the proposed amendment to the CSE within 90 days or if the cities do not act within 90 days the amendment is deemed approved by the cities.
On November 13, 2023, Raven SR submitted a letter to the Board requesting an amendment to the CSE. The letter and a location map are attached as Exhibit B. The letter was also simultaneously submitted to DCD staff. On November 17, 2023, DCD issued the 90-day notice letter to the Integrated Waste Management Task Force Members representing the cities and regional agencies and to all the city managers in the County. The 90-day notice period for the cities to act on the proposed amendment to the CSE concluded on February 15, 2024. None of the cities in the County took action to recommend approval or denial of the amendment to the CSE. Pursuant to PRC Section 41721.5(c), the cities are deemed to have approved the amendment as proposed. Therefore, DCD staff recommends the Board approve this amendment to the CSE. The Second Amendment is attached as Exhibit A and is accompanied by the site maps provided by Raven SR in the request letter (Exhibit B).
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If the Board does not approve this resolution to amend to the CSE, then the Raven SR project cannot be recognized as a transformation operation and CalRecycle will not authorize the project to be permitted, therefore the project could not be built.
THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
and for Special Districts, Agencies and Authorities Governed by the Board
body
IN THE MATTER OF adopting the Second Amendment to the 1993 Countywide Siting Element
WHEREAS, the California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 (Public Resources Code Section 40001, et seq.) requires local governments to develop and implement a Countywide Integrated Waste Management Plan for solid waste disposal which addresses various public goals and purposes, including adequate capacity for waste disposal and meeting State goals for the diversion of municipal wastes from landfills; and
WHEREAS, each Integrated Waste Management Plan includes a Siting Element, which identifies areas to be used for disposal or recycling of solid waste in the county and addresses the long-term solid waste disposal needs of the county; and
WHEREAS, in 1993, Contra Costa County adopted the Countywide Integrated Waste Management Plan, including a Countywide Siting Element which identifies waste disposal sites and capacities; and
WHEREAS, in 2018, the City of Pittsburg approved the First Amendment to the Countywide Siting Element to include a new Engineered Municipal Solid Waste Facility proposed to be located within the city limits; and
WHEREAS, Contra Costa County has prepared the Second Amendment to the Countywide Sitting Element to include the Raven SR Transfer/Processing Facility and Steam CO2 Reformation proposed to be located within the Richmond city limits; and
WHEREAS, the Second Amendment to the Countywide Siting Element must be approved by a majority of the cities within the County containing a majority of the incorporated population of the County and by the County of Contra Costa Board of Supervisors (Board); and
WHEREAS, the Second Amendment to the Countywide Siting Element is deemed to have been approved by the cities because the cities did not act within 90 days following receipt of the amendment; and
WHEREAS, a Mitigated Negative Declaration and Initial Study (No. SCH.2022100145) for this project was prepared and processed by the Planning Services Division of the City of Richmond’s Department of Resource Management, in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA"); and
WHEREAS, the Mitigated Negative Declaration and Initial Study have been duly noticed and were made available for public review pursuant to the requirements of CEQA; and
WHEREAS, the City of Richmond’s City Council approved the conditional use permit for the Raven SR facility at a public hearing on May 16, 2023; and
WHEREAS, notice of the scheduled public meeting regarding the Second Amendment to the Countywide Siting Element was properly published in the East Bay Times on June 7, 2024; and
WHEREAS, on July 9, 2024, the Board held a public meeting at which the Board considered adoption of the Second Amendment to the Countywide Siting Element; and
WHEREAS, at the public meeting, all interested parties were given an opportunity to appear and be heard and the Board considered all public comments.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED The Board of Supervisors of the County of Contra Costa:
Section 1. Finds that the County, as a responsible agency under CEQA, has considered the Mitigated Negative Declaration prepared by the City of Richmond Department of Resource Management, and the Second Amendment to the Countywide Siting Element, and there is no substantial evidence that the project will have a significant effect on the environment.
Section 2. Approves and adopts the Second Amendment to the Countywide Siting Element.