OVERVIEW OF THE C E D G C E N E - Energy.gov · GHG Emissions as a Proxy Use the projected quantity...

OVERVIEW OF THE COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY’SREVISED DRAFT GUIDANCE ON CONSIDERATION OF GREENHOUSE GAS

EMISSIONS AND THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE INNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT REVIEWS

HORST GGRECZMIELASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR NEPAOVERSIGHT

FEDERAL NEPACONTACTS MEETING16JANUARY 2015UPDATED 23JANUARY 2015

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WHERE

RevisedDraftGuidanceforFederalDepartmentsandAgenciesonConsiderationofGreenhouseGasEmissionsandtheEffectsofClimateChangeinNEPAReviews

NEPA.GOV https://ceq.doe.gov “CurrentDevelopments”“CEQReleasesRevisedDraftGuidanceonGreenhouseGasesandClimateChange”

WHITEHOUSE.GOVwww.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq“Initiatives”“StepstoModernizeandReinvigorateNEPA”“RevisedDraftGuidanceforGHGEmissions”

FederalRegister https://federalregister.gov/a/2014‐3003579FR77801(December24,2014)

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WHEN – HOW TO APPROACH THE ANALYSIS

RevisedDraftGuidanceforFederalDepartmentsandAgenciesonConsiderationofGreenhouseGasEmissionsandtheEffectsofClimateChangeinNEPAReviews

Proportionality RelyonagencyexperienceandexpertisetodeterminewhetherananalysisofGHGemissionsandclimatechangeimpactswouldbeusefultothedecisionmaker andthepublic.

Applythe“ruleofreason”toensurethatthetypeandlevelofanalysisiscommensuratewiththeanticipatedenvironmentaleffectsofGHGemissionsandclimatechange,andthattheseeffectsaredeservingofstudy.

Scoping UsethetraditionalscopingprocesstoascertainwhetherconsiderationofGHGemissionsandclimatechangeimpactsisrelevanttotheproposedactionandtheextentofanalysisrequired.

AgencyDecisionTools Developagencypracticesandguidancebasedonproportionalityandtheruleofreasonthatframetheprocessbywhichtheappropriatetype,level,andextentofanalysisofGHGemissionsandclimatechangeimpactsaredetermined.

Providetherationaleforanalyzing/notanalyzingGHGemissionsandclimatechangeimpactsinNEPAdocumentation.

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HOW

RevisedDraftGuidanceforFederalDepartmentsandAgenciesonConsiderationofGreenhouseGasEmissionsandtheEffectsofClimateChangeinNEPAReviews

GHGEmissionsasaProxy UsetheprojectedquantityofGHGemissionsand,whenappropriate,thepotentialchangesincarbonsequestrationandstorage,asaproxyforassessingtheclimatechangeimpactsofaproposedaction.

ReferencePoint QuantitativeanalysisofGHGemissionsiswarrantedif≥25,000mt CO2‐eonanannualbasisareexpectedorquantificationiseasilyaccomplished. QualitativelyanalyzeGHGemissionsifquantitativeanalysisisnotusedandexplainwhy. ThereferencepointisnotasubstituteforadeterminationofsignificanceunderNEPA.Significanceisdeterminedbyconsideringthecontextandintensityfactorssetforthin40C.F.R.§ 1508.27.

HOW_______________________________________________________

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AvailabilityofTools Indeterminingwhetheraquantitativeorqualitativeanalysisiswarranted,quantifywhentoolsandappropriateinputdataareavailable.ManyreliableGHGaccountingtoolsandmethodsexisttodayandarewidelyavailable.

Quantitativevs.Qualitative Considertheruleofreason,referencepoint,andavailabilityoftoolsandinputdatawhendecidingwhetheraquantitativeanalysiswouldbeusefulfordistinguishingbetweenalternativesormitigationmeasures.

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EFFECTS

RevisedDraftGuidanceforFederalDepartmentsandAgenciesonConsiderationofGreenhouseGasEmissionsandtheEffectsofClimateChangeinNEPAReviews

Direct– Indirect Assesseffectscausedbytheproposedactionthatoccuratthesametimeandplace(“direct”)inadditiontothosethatoccurlaterintimebutarereasonablyforeseeable(“indirect”). Choosereasonabletemporalandspatialparametersfortheanalysisofpotentialeffectsthatwouldbestinformthedecision‐makingprocessandthepublic.

Upstream– Downstream Consideremissionsfromactivitiesthathaveareasonablyclosecausalrelationshiptotheproposedaction,suchasthosethatmayoccurasapredicatefortheproposedaction(“upstream”)andthosethatmayoccurasaconsequenceoftheproposedaction(“downstream”).

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EFFECTS

RevisedDraftGuidanceforFederalDepartmentsandAgenciesonConsiderationofGreenhouseGasEmissionsandtheEffectsofClimateChangeinNEPAReviews

Controlvs.Disclosure

DisclosethepotentialimpactsofGHGemissionsandclimatechangetothepublicanddecisionmakers whenhelpfulforcomparingalternativesormitigationmeasuressothatbetter,moreinformeddecisionscanbemade.

Disclosuregoesbeyondthoseactionsoverwhichtheagencyhascontrolorresponsibility– itincludeseffectsoutsidethecontroloftheagency;however,theagencyshouldclearlydistinguishthoseeffects.

ThereviseddraftguidancedoesnotestablishregulatoryrequirementsorcompelagenciestoprohibitorcurtailGHGemissions.InconformancewithNEPA’sbasicprinciples,itdoesnotmandateparticularresultsorinsistthatagenciesselectthealternativewiththeleastGHGemissionsandclimatechangeeffects.

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AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT

RevisedDraftGuidanceforFederalDepartmentsandAgenciesonConsiderationofGreenhouseGasEmissionsandtheEffectsofClimateChangeinNEPAReviews

EffectsofClimateChange– IPCC,USGCRPinteragencyefforts

ScientificresearchhasshownthatariseinglobalatmosphericGHGemissionconcentrationsissignificantlyaffectingtheEarth’sclimate.

Anticipatedeffectsofclimatechangeincludemorefrequentandintenseheatwaves,moreseverewildfires,degradedairquality,moreheavydownpoursandflooding,increaseddrought,greatersea‐levelrise,moreintensestorms,harmtowaterresources,harmtoagriculture,andharmtowildlifeandecosystems.

Describethecurrentandexpectedfuturestateoftheaffectedenvironmentbasedonavailableclimatechangeinformation,includingobservations,interpretiveassessments,predictivemodeling,scenarios,andotherempiricalevidence,inNEPAdocuments.

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AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT

RevisedDraftGuidanceforFederalDepartmentsandAgenciesonConsiderationofGreenhouseGasEmissionsandtheEffectsofClimateChangeinNEPAReviews

Sustainability

Designalternativesthataccountforpotentialclimatechangeeffectsonaproposedactionoverthecourseofitsanticipatedusefullife,especiallyifitwillbelocatedinanareathatisconsideredvulnerabletospecificeffectssuchassea‐levelrise.

Examinetheimpactsofclimatechangeonaproposedactionthatcouldaffectsensitivepopulationsorenvironmentalresources.

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BASELINE

RevisedDraftGuidanceforFederalDepartmentsandAgenciesonConsiderationofGreenhouseGasEmissionsandtheEffectsofClimateChangeinNEPAReviews

Context:local,regional,internationalPerformmeaningfulanalysesofGHGemissionsandclimatechangeimpacts.

Avoidrelyinguponboilerplatetextormerelycomparingtheestimatedquantityofemissionsfromaproposedactiontocalculatedquantitiesofglobalemissionsunless suchacomparisontrulywouldassistthepublicandthedecisionmaker.

Inadditiontoemployingtheruleofreasonandconductinganalysesthatareproportionaltoanticipatedimpacts,incorporateagencyemissionstargets,suchasapplicableFederal,state,tribal,orlocalgoalsforGHGemissionreductions,toprovideananalyticalframeofreference,anddiscusswhethertheexpectedemissionsareconsistentwithsuchgoals.

ShortTerm– LongTermConsiderboththeshort‐ andlong‐termeffectsandbenefitsoftheproposedactionbasedontheexpectedlifeoftheprojectandthedurationofthegenerationofemissions.

Suchconsiderationisappropriatebothintheanalysisofalternativesandmitigationmeasures.

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ADAPTATION/PREPAREDNESS

RevisedDraftGuidanceforFederalDepartmentsandAgenciesonConsiderationofGreenhouseGasEmissionsandtheEffectsofClimateChangeinNEPAReviews

OpportunitywithEarlyPlanningAnalyzepotentialGHGemissionsandclimatechangeeffectsearlyintheNEPAprocesstomaximizeopportunitiestoadjustalternativesandmitigationswhichwillultimatelyleadtomoreresilientproposedactions.

Sustainability– BroaderGHGGoalsProgrammaticorlandscapelevelNEPAreviewsthatsupportagencydecisionsaffectingbroadscalesshouldprovideanaggregateanalysisofGHGemissionsorclimatechangeeffectswhentrendsinchangingenvironmentalconditionscanbedetermined.AgenciesshouldalsodiscussbroadersustainabilityandGHGgoalssuchaspromotingenergyefficiency,avoidingorreducingGHGemissions,reducingtheuseofpetroleumproducts,andusingordevelopingrenewableenergy.

TiereddocumentscanincorporateanalysesinprogrammaticNEPAdocumentsbyreferenceanddemonstratehowaparticularproposedactionaffectsthebroadersustainabilityandGHGgoalsarticulatedintheprogrammaticdocument.

CEQisacceptingpubliccommentsontheRevisedDraftGuidancefor60daysthroughFebruary23,2015. Commentsmaybesubmitted: Onlineathttp://www.whitehouse.gov/webform/submit‐comments‐revised‐draft‐guidance‐greenhouse‐gas‐emissions‐and‐climate‐change‐impacts(seenextslidefordetails) ViaelectronicmailtoGCC.guidance@ceq.eop.gov Inwritingto:

CouncilonEnvironmentalQuality,ATTN:HorstGreczmiel722JacksonPlace,NWWashington,DC20503

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