Reso PC16-23 PC 0116 Reso CEQA - Sandpiper

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Section 4.0 — Environmental Setting and Discussion of Impacts 4.3 AIR QUALITY 4.3.1 Existing Setting Air quality and the amount of a given pollutant in the atmosphere are determined by the amount of pollutant released and the atmosphere's ability to transport and dilute the pollutant. The major determination of transport and dilution are wind, atmospheric stability, terrain, and for photochemical pollutants, sunlight. The project site is located in San Mateo County, which is in the San Francisco Bay Area Air Basin. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) is the regional agency tasked with managing air quality in the region. The California Air Resources Board (CARE) oversees regional air district activities and regulates air quality at the state level. 4.3.1.1 Applicable Plans, Policies, and Regulations Federal, State, and Regional Federal, state, and regional agencies regulate air quality in the San Francisco Bay Area Air Basin. At the federal level, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is responsible for overseeing implementation of the Federal Clean Air Act. CARB is the state agency that regulates mobile sources throughout the state and oversees implementation of the state air quality laws and regulations, including the California Clean Air Act. The San Francisco Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) is the agency primarily responsible for assuring that the federal and state ambient air quality standards are maintained in the San Francisco Bay Area. BAAQMD has permit authority over stationary sources, acts as the primary reviewing agency for environmental documents, and develops regulations that must be consistent with or more stringent than, federal and state air quality laws and regulations. Regional Air Quality Management Districts such as BAAQMD must prepare air quality plans specifying how state air quality standards would be met. BAAQMD's most recent adopted plan is the Bay Area 2010 Clean Air Plan (CAP). For all proposed projects, BAAQMD recommends implementation of the updated Basic Construction Mitigation Measures listed in the BAAQMD CEQA Air Quality Guidelines whether or not construction -related emissions exceed applicable thresholds. Public Resources Code Section 21151.8 of the Public Resources Code (PRC) requires school districts, as part of an EIR or Negative Declaration, to evaluate the environmental conditions in the project area to determine if a school site is located within 500 feet of the edge of the closest traffic lane of a freeway or other busy corridor. Sandpiper Elementary School is approximately 9,800 feet northeast of the closest freeway traffic lane (US Route 101). This section of the PRC also requires school districts to notify in writing the air quality management district having jurisdiction in the area to identify both permitted and non - City of Redwood City 19 Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration Sandpiper Elementary School Facilities Expansion November 2016