Key activities since the Sustainability Committee’s last meeting on March 28, 2022, are listed below.
- On January 18, 2022, the Board of Supervisors adopted the all-electric ordinance for all new construction of residential and some new non-residential construction, such as retail, office, and hotels. The California Energy Commission has confirmed that the new requirements will go into effect June 1, 2022. The Department of Conservation and Development also launched a new webpage to inform the public about the new ordinance requirements.
- The G3 Champions (Green Government Group) held their inaugural meeting on April 26. 50 people attended, and even more are registered as Champions. The G3 Champions are focusing initially on Bike to Work Week in May. The G3 Champions will be recognized at the June 7 Board of Supervisors meeting. The group will meet every other month, with a different focus and activity each meeting. The following departments have nominated G3 Champions: Agriculture, Animal Services, Health, Child Support Services, Probation, County Counsel, Conservation and Development, Employment and Human Services, Human Resources, Library (every branch!), Public Defender, Public Works, Treasurer-Tax Collector, Risk Management.
- Sustainability staff are working to schedule the next Energy Efficiency Collaborative meeting in June for Contra Costa County city staff. County staff will provide updates on BayREN programs and present on the County’s all-electric ordinance.
- Contra Costa Health Services (CCHS) has the following report:
- CCHS has joined Practice Green Health as of May 2022. Practice Green health is a health sector membership origination, affiliated with Health Care Without Harm, focused on reducing the carbon footprint of the health care industry.
- CCHS joined other health care organizations in pledging to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, part of the National Academy of Medicine Climate Network and the White House Earth Day 2022 Pledge.
- To date over 250 Portable Air Filters have been requested via the AB 836 Clean Air Grant program, across multiple city and school jurisdictions in Contra Costa County.
- CCHS participated in an exploratory conversation with the California Department of Public Health related to proposed state funding to craft a Regional Climate-Health Action Plan. The Governor has proposed $25 million in one-time funding in the FY 2022-23 budget to support this effort. Another $10 million has been proposed for the State to capture much improved climate-health data via syndromic surveillance.
- CCHS also provided input to the County Health Executives Association of California related to AB 2076, a bill proposed to compliment health data collection related to extreme heat.
- The County Library has launched seed libraries at a number of branches where community members can share and trade seeds.
- Sustainability staff partnered with Flood Control for the Q2 meeting of the Sustainability Exchange, a quarterly gathering for local government staff in Contra Costa County who work on sustainability issues to network and learn from one another. Paul Detjens from Flood Control provided a tour of the Lower Walnut Creek restoration project.
- Healthy Lands, Healthy People, the carbon sequestration feasibility study funded through a grant from the California Department of Conservation, is underway. The technical work to analyze options for storing carbon in the different land use types in our County is proceeding. The team has developed a video and survey about carbon sequestration in natural and working lands and will host a series of focus groups later in May and June.
- The Sustainability group in the Department of Conservation and Development (DCD) welcomed a new planner, Adam Scarbrough, on April 1. Adam is the second new planner in the Sustainability group since Nicole Shimizu started on February 15.
- Public Works is working to launch the Sustainability Fund for investments in County facilities that support Climate Action Plan goals.
- Administrative Bulletins 507 and 508 have been updated to require purchase of Zero Emission Vehicles (battery electric, hydrogen, plug-in hybrid with battery range of at least 30 miles) unless justification based on operational need is approved by the County Administrator’s Office.
- Public Works has identified several programs that can help the County meet the goals of the Distributed Energy Resources plan and broader climate action goals. Several of the items on the May 23 Sustainability Committee agenda are related to this work.
- Public Works continues implementation the Vision Zero Action Plan and the Active Transportation Plan adopted by the Board of Supervisors.
- The Vision Zero Action Plan is designed to be an equitable, sustainable, multimodal transportation system where users of all ages and abilities can travel conveniently, reliably, and free from harm. The Vision Zero Action Plan was approved by the Board of Supervisors on March 1, 2022.
- The Active Transportation Plan will focus on improving walking, biking, and rolling (i.e., wheeled mobility devices used by people with disabilities, strollers, scooters, skateboards, etc.) in the unincorporated areas of the County. The Active Transportation Plan was approved by the Board of Supervisors on April 26, 2022.
- The Federal government authorized funding to begin planning work for economic transition. The federal omnibus appropriations package (H.R. 2471) includes $750,000 for this purpose. Details on how the funding will be transmitted to the County are pending.
- Jody London spoke at a meeting of Sustainable Rossmoor about how sustainability is being woven into the ongoing update to the County’s General Plan, and at a conference hosted by the Center for Creative Land Recycling on environmental justice in the County’s General Plan update.
- Staff participated in professional learning opportunities regarding environmental justice, carbon sequestration, communication and facilitation strategies, race and equity, and related.
- Sustainability staff collaborated with County staff working on topics including land use and transportation, hazardous materials, green business program, the County’s state and federal legislative platforms, economic development, health, codes, solid waste, energy, and related.
- Staff participated in regional activities.
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