San Andreas, CA…NOTICE OF INTENT TO ADOPT A MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION. Lead Agency: Calaveras County Planning Department, 891 Mountain Ranch Rd., San Andreas, CA 95249. Project Description: 2015-011 Administrative Use Permit – Calaveras Healthy Impact Product Solutions (CHIPS) Woody Biomass-Fired Combined Heat and Power Project
The proposed project is a community-scale 3 megawatt (MW) biomass combined heat and power facility. The facility is designed to create electricity, heat, and biochar through gasification of woody biomass feedstock primarily collected from forest-sourced biomass. Biomass feedstock will be converted to a conditioned (cleaned) producer gas (gas) in the gasifier, and the gas is used in an internal combustion engine to run a generator to make electricity. The electricity is intended to be sold to Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) on their distribution-level circuit. Major pieces of equipment to support this operation are expected to be: a feedstock drying system, gasifiers and their respective gas conditioning systems, internal combustion engine generator sets, a standby flare device, biochar storage, dry biomass storage, a truck scale, a fork lift, and a front loader.

Project Location: At the eastern edge of the Calaveras County Water District West Point facility. Site access is from an unnamed road off of North Railroad Flat Road, just west of Blizzard Mine Road, Wilseyville. APN 12-011-014, T06N, R13E, Sec. 14.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Calaveras County Planning Department has prepared a Mitigated Negative Declaration, pursuant to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), for the above described project.

PUBLIC REVIEW PERIOD: A 30 day public review period for the Negative Declaration will commence on May 10, 2017 through June 9, 2017 for interested individuals and public agencies to submit written comments on the document. Any written comments on the Negative Declaration must be received at the above address within the public review period. Copies of the Negative Declaration and Initial Study are available for review at the above address, by contacting the Planning Department, and on the Department website: http://planning.calaverasgov.us/.

Pursuant to Government Code 65009, if anyone challenges the above listed issues in a court of law, the challenge may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raise during the public comment period prior to action by the Planning Director on the Administrative Use Permit. You are welcome to review the application at the Calaveras County Planning Department during normal working hours, 8:00 a. m. to 4:00 p. m., Monday through Friday except county holidays. Copies of the project file and staff report can be purchased at the Planning Department for the cost of making the copies.

Published: May 10, 2017 VSN