CEQA Guide to Air Quality Assessment
Determine if a project will have significant air quality impacts by consulting the CEQA Guide to Air Quality Assessment (CEQA Guide).
The CEQA Guide was completely updated in December 2009, after the AQMD held workshops on the draft document and responded to comments (PDF).
Lead Agencies are being requested to utilize the December 2009 CEQA Guide beginning January 1, 2010, for all projects that have not released a draft environmental document for public review on or before that date.
The CEQA guide provides methods to review air quality impacts from development projects, screening approaches, methods for calculating emissions, and mitigation measures.
Additional information on mitigation measures is available on the AQMD’s mitigation page.
Guidance on assessing the potential increase in cancer risk from diesel exhaust by siting sensitive receptors adjacent to major roadways is available on the AQMD’s Roadway Protocol page.
For questions on specific projects, contact:
| Staff | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|
Jeane Berry |
Climate Change |
Rachel Dubose |
City of Citrus Heights, North and Central Areas of the County of Sacramento |
J.J. Hurley |
Cities of Folsom and Sacramento |
Karen Huss |
City of Galt |
Charlene McGhee |
City of Elk Grove, South Area of the County of Sacramento |
Paul Philley |
City of Rancho Cordova, assistance with City of Sacramento |
Molly Wright |
Assistance with City of Sacramento and County of Sacramento |
Staff contact information can be found on the AQMD’s staff directory. |
|
Thresholds of Significance
The AQMD Board adopted the significance thresholds on March 28, 2002 (PDF). The significance thresholds are compiled in the CEQA Guide’s thresholds table (PDF).
Models and Meteorological Data
URBEMIS is the most common model used to calculate project air emissions. Visit www.URBEMIS.com to download the model or obtain specific information regarding the URBEMIS model.
In addition to URBEMIS, the Roadway Construction Emissions Model (Version 6.3.2, July 2009, in Excel – 4 Mb) is available to assess the emissions of linear construction projects. Contact Karen Huss (khuss@airquality.org or (916) 874-4881) regarding this model.
For air dispersion modeling, the AQMD provides local meteorological data files (ASC) for the BEEST/ISCT3 model:
