In September 2020, the Board of Supervisors (Board) adopted a Climate Emergency Resolution that, among other things, resolves “that the Board of Supervisors and the County Sustainability Commission seek input from the community (with a special focus on highly impacted Environmental Justice communities), workers (especially impacted workers), and business/industry to help the County anticipate and plan for an economy that is less dependent on fossil fuels, helps plan for a "Just Transition" away from a fossil-fuel dependent economy, and considers how the County's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic can incorporate the County's climate goals. As the State of California adopts policies and goals for reducing pollution and addressing climate change, the County will develop strategies to improve the health, safety, infrastructure, job opportunities and revenue opportunities during the shift to a zero-emission economy. The County will provide special attention to helping develop new opportunities for frontline and impacted communities that realize economic, health and other benefits. The Commission will include this topic in its ongoing advice to the Board of Supervisors.”
The County’s engagement on Just Transition will build on and complement the ongoing work of the County and seven city partners on the Northern Waterfront Economic Development Initiative, as further discussed below. In October 2020, the Sustainability Commission received a report on Just Transition efforts in other communities in the U.S. and internationally.
In March 2021, the Sustainability Committee discussed options for a process that will facilitate an inclusive Just Transition. That meeting included a presentation from Assemblymember Tim Grayson on AB 844, the Green Empowerment Zone legislation, which was subsequently approved and signed into law. The meeting also included a presentation from Congressman Mark DeSaulnier on federal legislation he was sponsoring to prepare the community for the impacts of refinery closures.
In 2020, two of the four oil refineries in Contra Costa County, Marathon and Phillips 66, submitted applications to manufacture renewable fuel in lieu of fossil fuels. Those applications were approved by the Board in May 2022 and are awaiting permits from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
The approvals for both projects included detailed requirements to implement a Demolition and Site Clean-Up/Reuse Program. Both refineries also entered into Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) that will provide substantial funding to the County that the County will allocate to “projects and programs that benefit the communities near the Refinery by improving the health, well-being, and quality of life of residents, and that support building and sustaining a strong and resilient local economy and workforce, including the development and implementation of workforce development and training programs to prepare residents for new renewable and clean energy career pathways and jobs”. Both refineries have also committed through their CBAs “to actively participate with other appropriate stakeholders in planning and designing a Workforce Training Program for local community members related to renewable and clean energy employment opportunities”.
The County is in the process of accepting a $750,000 Community Project Funding (CPF) grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to develop a Just Transition Economic Revitalization Plan, a long-term strategic planning process resulting in a roadmap for implementing land use changes to attract and accommodate businesses in the industry clusters identified through the Northern Waterfront Economic Development Initiative (Initiative), which include advanced transportation fuels, bio-tech/bio-medical, diverse manufacturing, food processing, and clean tech; developing strategies to attract and support businesses in these industry clusters; workforce (re)training to transition from fossil fuel-related industries to other forms of production and employment that are clean and sustainable; and promoting equity in helping Contra Costa County achieve its economic development goals. HUD has requested that the County’s grant materials be submitted by December 31, 2022. Staff seeks direction from the Sustainability Committee at this special meeting so that there is sufficient time to seek approval from the Board of Supervisors prior to the submittal deadline.
The pending grant award is the result of the Board’s direction to seek a Congressional earmark for work on this topic and the work of Representative Mark DeSaulnier and his colleagues to seek and secure a funding appropriation through the federal budget process. The Sustainability Committee will be making recommendations to the Board of Supervisors on how this funding will be used in the County’s Just Transition efforts.
The initial work on Just Transition funded by the federal grant is anticipated to be an 18-24 month process, and one that will lead to further innovation, and, presuming additional funding can be identified, future phases to be pursued over time. Federal grant funds will be used to lead a robust countywide stakeholder engagement process, ensuring that residents of impacted Environmental Justice communities, workers and labor unions, business and industry, local government, environmental justice and environmental interests, community colleges, the workforce development system, and other relevant stakeholders help guide the work and are invested in its outcomes.
The federal grant funds will also be used to conduct economic analysis identifying future opportunities and constraints as well as land use and environmental analysis to help guide planning. Workforce transitions and training needed to support career pathways in the industry clusters identified in the Initiative and the associated necessary investments in the labor force are another critical component of the work to be initiated with the federal funds. The work will culminate in a Just Transition Economic Revitalization Plan, which is a roadmap to move forward with an equitable Contra Costa Just Transition. This will provide a sustainable, feasible plan to make Contra Costa the hub for jobs in the new energy economy -- with a trained workforce ready to take these jobs and a new generation of clean industries/ businesses/ employers investing in the area.
The Committee discussed this at the September 19, 2022, meeting |