Draft Environmental Impact Report - California Off Highway Vehicle ...

3.2 Air Quality
3.2 Air Quality
This section presents details about the existing setting and regulatory setting for air quality. It also
presents an analysis of the air quality impacts that would result from implementing the Clay Pit
SVRA General Plan, including constructing and operating the headquarters facilities.
3.2.1 Existing Setting
The information in this section supplements the existing climate and air quality discussion for the
project area provided in Section 2.3.1, “Physical Resources,” of the Clay Pit SVRA General Plan.
Clay Pit SVRA is located within the Sacramento Valley Air Basin (SVAB), located in the northern
portion of the Central Valley. The SVAB includes Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Sacramento, Shasta, Sutter,
Tehama, Yolo, and Yuba Counties; the western urbanized portion of Placer County; and the
northeastern portion of Solano County.
Because of its inland location, the SVAB’s climate is more extreme than that of the San Francisco
Bay Area or South Coast Air Basins. The winters are generally cool and wet, while the summers
are hot and dry. Primary sources of air emissions in the nonurban areas are from fossil fuel
combustion, on‐road vehicles and OHVs, agricultural tilling, fertilizer, livestock, and road dust.
The City of Oroville is the closest population center to Clay Pit SVRA (approximately 2.5 miles
northeast). Oroville has approximately 15,000 people and the greater Oroville area has a
population of approximately 55,000 people. Much of the Oroville area’s economy is based on
outdoor recreation, with about 1 million visitors per year (City of Oroville 2010).
Butte County Ambient Air Quality
As discussed in the General Plan, Section 2.7.3, “Regulatory Influences,” criteria air pollutants
include ozone, carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), respirable
particulate matter with an aerodynamic resistance diameter of 10 micrometers or less (PM10), fine
particulate matter with an aerodynamic resistance diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less (PM2.5),
and lead. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) monitors criteria air pollutants within the
SVAB using a number of monitoring stations. The monitoring station closest to the project site
with complete monitoring data is in Chico approximately 22 miles to the north. This monitoring
station measures ozone, CO, NO2, PM10, and PM2.5. In general, the measurements at this station
represent the air quality near the SVRA. Table 3.2‐1 summarizes concentrations and exceedances
of the California Ambient Air Quality Standards (CAAQS) and National Ambient Air Quality
Standards (NAAQS) from the most recent 3 years (2008–2010) at the Chico station (CARB 2011a).
Clay Pit State Vehicular Recreation Area
Draft EIR 3.2-1 February 2012