On June 1st, RCRC affiliate Golden State Finance Authority (GSFA), acting as the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) lead agency, reissued a Notice of Preparation (NOP) for the Golden State Natural Resources (GSNR) Forest Resiliency Project. The proposed project aims to improve the resiliency of California’s forestlands by sustainably procuring and processing excess biomass into a pelletized fuel source for use in renewable energy generation overseas. Specifically, the proposed project would include the development of two processing facilities, one in the foothills of the Central Sierra Nevada Mountain range, in Tuolumne County, and one in the Modoc Plateau of Northern California, in Lassen County.
GSFA previously released a NOP on November 18, 2022, to initiate the environmental scoping process in accordance with the CEQA Guidelines. This reissued NOP provides minor changes to the project description and has initiated a 30-day public review and comment period from June 1, 2023, to June 30, 2023. The revised NOP reflects the selection of the Port of Stockton for the project’s shipping needs, provides additional detail regarding feedstock storage sites, design layout, and includes related minor changes.
A virtual public scoping meeting for the revised NOP will be held on June 20, 2023, to accept comments regarding the potential impacts of the project. These comments will inform development of the Environmental Impact Report (EIR), which will occur over the next several months. The revised NOP is available here and additional information regarding the current status of the project, along with registration for the June 20th meeting, will be made available on the GSNR webpage