Humboldt Readies Climate Action Plan for Environmental Review

A draft version of Humboldt County’s plan to comply with greenhouse gas emission reduction mandates is nearing environmental review and getting initial rounds of public feedback. 

The county’s Regional Climate Action Plan sets the agenda for how the county and its cities will meet state emission goals. 

A state bill – SB 32 – mandates emissions reductions of 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. 

But at that point, the state would still be adding carbon to the atmosphere so additional goals – also set by state laws – are to have all passenger vehicles be zero emission by 2035 and to have all sale of electrical power be from renewable or zero emission sources by 2045. 

Humboldt County’s part in it is outlined in the draft plan, which sets forth measures to reduce annual emissions by 220,000 metric tons. 

The plan and its strategies were presented during a Sept. 10 public meeting held at Eureka’s Wharfinger Building and simulcast online. 

County and city governments and agencies will collaborate on carrying out the plan. 

Erica Linard of Rincon Consultants, the planning firm contracted to supervise environmental review, said creation of a multi-jurisdictional Regional Climate Committee is a “cornerstone measure” and a prerequisite for gaining funding. 

“What’s important about it is that it leverages limited resources and creates synergy between efforts that are being done in different communities,” she continued. 

Other measures in the plan include “building electrification” including renewable and zero emissions sources. That will eventually be supported by the offshore wind energy planned for an area off the Eureka coast. 

Vehicle use produces 73 percent of Humboldt’s carbon emissions and Linard said a mix of actions will address it, including expanding opportunities for “alternative modes of transportation” and improving public transit. 

She said the Humboldt Transit Authority already has “some very strong goals and efforts underway to increase public transit across the community.” 

Developing infrastructure for zero emission vehicles is also in the plan, as is transitioning away from diesel fuel. 

Linard said The latter measure is relevant to off-road vehicle use, which accounts for eight percent of the county’s 1.5 million metric tons of annual carbon emissions. 

Diverting organic waste from distant landfills is another measure. 

Carbon sequestration is also a significant factor and Humboldt has strong potential for getting emissions reduction credit for it. 

But Linard said the degree to which the county’s natural resources absorb carbon is “likely a lot” and needs to be quantified.

The meeting was pre-planned and unknowingly scheduled the same night as the presidential debate so public attendance was sparse. 

But issues raised included viability of funding, enforcement of the plan’s measures, over-reliance on biofuels, the absence of emissions from refrigerants in the plan’s emissions estimates and the variability of commitment to reducing emissions among the county’s cities. 

The day of the meeting, the county’s Board of Supervisors approved the draft plan for environmental review. 

Planning Director John Ford said the plan’s implementation is already happening though the work of agencies like the Redwood Coast Energy Authority. 

An important element of the plan – increasing use of renewable energy —  is “something that RCEA is very much engaged in,” he continued. 

The plan calls for creating a local organic waste processing facility, as Ford noted that the county now trucks its organic waste to a facility 400 miles away. 

Supervisor Steve Madrone said processed organic waste can have value and it should be dealt with locally. 

“If we’re shipping anything, it ought to be value-added – it ought to be a fertilizer product,” he continued. 

The plan’s measures are location-specific, as there’s differentiation between urban and rural areas. 

During a public comment period, Colin Fiske of the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities questioned the plan’s definition of urban and rural. 

“The definition doesn’t make much sense – it calls anything outside of the city limits of Eureka, Arcata or Fortuna rural and it doesn’t account for population density or any other relevant characteristics,” he said. “I think it’s pretty clear that places like Cutten, Myrtletown and McKinleyville are not really rural.”

He added that “pretending that they are” may exempt them from “pulling their weight” of emissions reduction but could also under-serve them when it comes to public transit and trail development. 

Discussing make-up of the Regional Climate Committee, supervisors agreed it should mirror the Humboldt County Association of Governments, which administrates transportation funding.

Comments on the latest version of the Climate Action Plan will be taken until Sept. 20. But more public comment opportunities will open as the county prepares and drafts an Environmental Impact Report. 

A final EIR is expected to be approved in June of 2025.