7. Air Quality Impacts

With respect to air quality, construction activities associated with the project would generate short-term emissions of criteria pollutants, including suspended and inhalable particulate matter and equipment exhaust emissions. According to the FEIR, this would be a significant impact (FEIR, pages 2-8). The FEIR identified and the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors imposed the following mitigation measures to reduce or avoid air quality impacts to the maximum extent possible:

4.4.1a Project proponent would require construction contractors to implement a detailed construction dust abatement program (FEIR, pages 2-8).

4.4.1b The project applicant would require its construction contractors to comply with the following requirements for project construction:

· Use of California on-road diesel fuel for all diesel powered construction equipment;

· Use of construction equipment that is properly tuned and maintained in accordance with manufacturer's specifications;

· Use of best management construction practices to avoid unnecessary emission (e.g., trucks and vehicles in loading and unloading queues would turn their engines off when not in use). (FEIR, pages 2-9.)

4.4.1c Sets minimum standards for the use of heavy-duty off-road vehicles powered by CARB certified off-road engines (FEIR, pages 2-9).

4.4.1d Construction contractors shall be required to use equipment tuned according to manufacturer's specifications (FEIR pages 2-9).

4.4.1e Since the project would have a significant impact during the construction period, alternative fuels like biodiesel shall be used to the extent possible instead of diesel fuel (FEIR, pages 2-10).

This air quality impact is considered significant and unavoidable. While mitigation measures for air quality impacts would substantially lessen the impacts, the measures will not reduce air quality impacts to a less than significant level. The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors found this impact to be significant and unavoidable, and we concur in that finding.

Noise Impacts

With respect to noise impacts, the project would result in noise levels in excess of local standards during project construction (FEIR, pages 2-10). The FEIR identified and the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors imposed the following mitigation measures to reduce or avoid noise impacts to the maximum extent possible:

4.5.1a The project applicant shall require its contractors to comply with the construction hour limitations set forth in Table 4.5-2 for the City of West Sacramento, Sacramento County, and Yolo County except for construction activities (directional drilling) that require continuous operation (FEIR pages 2-10).

4.5.1b To further mitigate potential temporary noise impacts to sensitive receptors within 50 feet of pipeline construction, a set of site-specific noise attenuation measures shall be completed (FEIR pages 2-10).

This noise impact is considered significant and unavoidable. While mitigation measures for construction related noise impacts would substantially lessen the impacts, the measures will not reduce construction related noise impacts to a less than significant level. The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors found this impact to be significant and unavoidable, and we concur in that finding.