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ALTERNATIVES <br />The Council may or may not elect to provide direction to staff on the City’s participation <br />in the Peninsula Clean Energy program. <br />FISCAL IMPACT <br />There is no fiscal impact to the City as a result of implementing a Community Choice <br />Aggregation program. The County funded the Technical Study and plans to fund the <br />start-up costs for PCE. The program will be rate-payer funded after it begins billing, and <br />the JPA will be separate and distinct from its member agencies. SMC anticipates <br />recovering the start-up costs during the first years of operation as part of the CCA rate <br />structure. <br />ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW <br />San Mateo County has determined that joining the JPA would be exempt from the <br />requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to the CEQA <br />Guidelines because joining is not an action that would result in a direct physical change <br />in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the <br />environment and is therefore not a “project” pursuant to 14 Cal. Code Regs. Section <br />15378(a). Further, even if joining the JPA were considered a “project”, it would be <br />exempt from CEQA because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that <br />the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment (14 Cal Code <br />Regs. Section 15061(b)(3)) and because it is an action taken by a regulatory agency to <br />assume the maintenance, restoration, enhancement, or protection of the environment <br />where the regulatory process involves procedures for protection of the environment (14 <br />Cal Code Regs. Section 15308).City Staff has not yet determined whether it agrees with <br />the County’s CEQA determination above. Moreover, at least one organization has <br />challenged this position in another jurisdiction, arguing that formation of the JPA is a <br />“project” subject to CEQA and that an EIR should be prepared prior to formation. <br /> <br />VICKI SHERMAN <br />ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES COORDINATOR <br /> <br /> <br />RAMANA CHINNAKOTLA <br />PUBLIC W ORKS DIRECTOR <br /> <br /> <br />7.A - Page 6