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Update: Climate Implementation Program - Deputy Director Riske-Gomez
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Requested Action(s)
recommendation
Informational presentation on the Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) & Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP) work program, including status of the Baseline VMT Data Source Evaluation Memo (Admin Draft) and the Tehama County Asset Assessment Analysis (Admin Draft).
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Financial Impact:
None.
Background:
On November 15, 2021, Congress enacted the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which created the federal Carbon Reduction Program (CRP) at 23 U.S.C. §175 to fund projects and strategies that reduce transportation emissions. CRP funds are contract authority from the Highway Trust Fund and remain available for obligation for up to four years (the fiscal year of apportionment plus three), allowing small agencies to sequence planning and near-term implementation activities.
Tehama’s Technical Advisory Committee received an informational briefing on CRP on January 4, 2023 and discussed a regional allocation of $116,471 to support a carbon-reduction strategy. The briefing outlined eligible uses-importantly including development of a carbon reduction strategy, intelligent transportation systems, active transportation, and support for zero-emission infrastructure-providing a flexible path for Tehama to advance planning and early actions.
Consistent with that direction, staff recommended utilizing CRP to complete a regional Climate Implementation Program (CIP) bundled with VMT tool development and a Zero-Emission Rollout Plan, so that planning, CEQA/SB 743 compliance tools, and transition strategies move in tandem. The recommendation also aligns with statewide policy drivers, Governor’s climate executive orders (N-19-19 and N-79-20) on transportation decarbonization, and statutory greenhouse-gas targets, framing the County’s need to cut emissions while maintaining essential services.
Two workstreams anchor this effort. First, SB 743 requires lead agencies to evaluate transportation impacts using Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) rather than LOS; because Tehama lacks a locally calibrated travel demand model, the project evaluates alternative data sources to establish defensible VMT baselines and thresholds for CEQA. Second, the Asset Assessment Analysis establishes a countywide snapshot of facilities, fleet, roads/bridges, utilities, and parks to identify state-of-good-repair needs, climate risks, and candidate investments that reduce emissions and improve resilience-supporting SB 32/B-55-18 goals and CARB ZEV rules.
This item reports on progress across those tracks and sets up upcoming decisions (preferred VMT data source, late-August stakeholder session) to keep the October adoption target on schedule.
Progress to date (Admin Drafts completed):
• Baseline VMT Data Source Evaluation Memo (Aug 2025): compares three pathways for establishing CEQA VMT baselines and thresholds in a rural county without a local travel model: CSTDM, VMT+ (StreetLight), and Replica. Key takeaway: CSTDM is best for forecasting but too coarse locally; VMT+ is simple and shows pre/post-pandemic shifts but has metric limits; Replica provides finer local detail but needs careful use in CA contexts.
• Illustrative metrics in the drafts show: CSTDM 2015 home-based VMT/resident ≈ 9.1; VMT+ 2019→2022 declines; Replica 2019 vs. 2024 declines per resident/employee-demonstrating pandemic-era travel changes relevant to threshold setting.
• Tehama County Asset Assessment Analysis (Aug 2025): inventories county facilities, fleet, roads/bridges, utilities, and parks; highlights state-of-good-repair gaps, climate risks, and funding opportunities. Snapshot findings include: ~60 facilities (~389k sq ft), aging systems and energy upgrades opportunities; ~200 on-road vehicles with many >10-15 years; average PCI ≈ 50 and 304 bridges county/citywide with significant rehab/replacement needs (order-of-magnitude estimate ~$172M per RTP context).
• The one-page “Summary as of Aug 12, 2025” condenses these numbers and frames near-term opportunities (e.g., LED/controls, ZEV transition, pavement/bridge grant strategy).
How today’s update connects to prior Commission direction:
The admin drafts operationalize the Commission’s prior CRP-aligned planning direction by (a) providing defensible VMT baselines/metrics for SB 743 implementation and (b) identifying asset condition gaps and climate-resilient investment priorities that can be packaged for competitive state/federal funding.
Next Steps
• Incorporate Commission and TAC feedback into the two admin drafts.
• If authorized, release for agency/stakeholder review and return with a comment matrix and final draft schedule.
• Coordinate with the Zero-Emission Rollout planning tasks so fleet/facilities electrification, charging siting, and capital programming align with the VMT/asset findings.
Fiscal Impact
No immediate fiscal action. Work to-date is planning/analysis and is consistent with using CRP funds to advance the region’s carbon-reduction strategy; additional implementation funding would be sought through applicable state/federal programs for project specific implementation.