Harris Vegetation Management Project Air Quality and Climate Report Prepared by: Cindy Diaz, Natural Resource Planner and Ann Glubczynski, Natural Resource Planner Shasta-McCloud Management Unit Reviewed by: Steve Clark, Fuels Specialist January 28, 2014 Air Quality and Climate Report – January 28, 2014 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY). 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Harris Vegetation Management Project Table of Contents Air Quality _________________________________________________________________________ 1 Introduction ______________________________________________________________________ 1 Forest Plan Direction – Shasta-Trinity Land and Resource Management Plan ___________________ 2 Air Quality (Forest Plan 3-5): _______________________________________________________ 2 Biomass (Forest Plan 3-7) __________________________________________________________ 2 Management Direction Air Quality (page 4-4) __________________________________________ 2 Forest-wide Standards and Guidelines ________________________________________________ 2 Air Quality (Chapter 4 - Standards and Guidelines) ___________________________________ 2 Monitoring Action Plan _________________________________________________________ 2 Federal Law ____________________________________________________________________ 3 Clean Air Act _________________________________________________________________ 3 EPA 1998 Interim Air Quality Policy on Wildland and Prescribed Fires ___________________ 4 National Forest Management Act _________________________________________________ 4 State and Local Law ______________________________________________________________ 4 California Clean Air Act ________________________________________________________ 4 Regional Haze Plan ____________________________________________________________ 4 Naturally Occurring Asbestos ____________________________________________________ 4 Title 17 Compliance ____________________________________________________________ 5 Burn Permit, Local Rules ________________________________________________________ 5 Methodology ______________________________________________________________________ 6 Resource Indicators and Measures ___________________________________________________ 6 Temporal Bounding ______________________________________________________________ 6 Spatial Bounding _________________________________________________________________ 6 Information Sources ______________________________________________________________ 7 Incomplete and Unavailable Information ______________________________________________ 7 Affected Environment ______________________________________________________________ 7 Climate ________________________________________________________________________ 7 Ambient Air Quality ______________________________________________________________ 7 Area Designations _____________________________________________________________ 8 Sensitive Receptors ______________________________________________________________ 10 Class I Airsheds ______________________________________________________________ 10 Fugitive Dust ___________________________________________________________________ 11 Naturally Occurring Asbestos (NOA) ________________________________________________ 11 Environmental Consequences ________________________________________________________ 11 Alternative 5 (No Action) _________________________________________________________ 11 Ambient Air Quality __________________________________________________________ 11 Sensitive Receptors ___________________________________________________________ 12 Fugitive Dust ________________________________________________________________ 12 Naturally Occurring Asbestos ___________________________________________________ 12 Alternatives 1, 2, 3 4a, 4b and 4c _________________________________________________ 12 Class I Airsheds ____________________________________________________________________ 16 Other Sensitive Receptors _____________________________________________________________ 17 Fugitive Dust ________________________________________________________________ 17 Naturally Occurring Asbestos (NOA) _____________________________________________ 17 Cumulative Effects____________________________________________________________ 17 Short-term Uses and Long-term Productivity ____________________________________________ 19 Unavoidable Adverse Effects ________________________________________________________ 19 Compliance with Forest Plan and Other Relevant Laws, Regulations, Policies, and Plans _________ 19 Air Quality and Climate Report – January 28, 2014 Shasta-Trinity Land and Resource Management Plan ___________________________________ 19 Laws and Regulations ____________________________________________________________ 19 Degree to Which the Purpose and Need for Action is Met _________________________________ 20 Degree to Which the Alternatives Address the Issues _____________________________________ 20 Other Agencies and Individuals Consulted _____________________________________________ 20 Climate Change _____________________________________________________________________ 21 Introduction _____________________________________________________________________ 21 Regulatory Framework _____________________________________________________________ 21 Federal Law ___________________________________________________________________ 21 National Forest Management Act ________________________________________________ 21 State and Local Law _____________________________________________________________ 21 Agency Goals and Objectives ___________________________________________________ 22 Forest Plan __________________________________________________________________ 22 Introduction and Methodology _______________________________________________________ 23 Affected Environment _____________________________________________________________ 24 Introduction ____________________________________________________________________ 24 Regional Trends ________________________________________________________________ 24 Forest Structure ______________________________________________________________ 24 Hydrology __________________________________________________________________ 24 Forest Fires _________________________________________________________________ 25 Local Trends ___________________________________________________________________ 25 Regional Projections _____________________________________________________________ 25 Temperature _________________________________________________________________ 25 Precipitation _________________________________________________________________ 25 Local Projections _______________________________________________________________ 26 Forest Resiliency and the Influences of Climate Change ______________________________ 26 Climate Change and Wildfire Severity ____________________________________________ 26 Climate Change and Adaptation _________________________________________________ 27 Carbon Cycling _________________________________________________________________ 27 Carbon Cycling and Forest Management___________________________________________ 27 Carbon Loss from Wildfire _____________________________________________________ 28 Carbon Sequestration and Forest Products _________________________________________ 29 Environmental Consequences ________________________________________________________ 29 No Action _____________________________________________________________________ 29 Action Alternatives ______________________________________________________________ 30 Direct, Indirect, and Cumulative Effects ___________________________________________ 30 Cumulative Effects____________________________________________________________ 32 Compliance with Forest Plan and Other Relevant Laws, Regulations, Policies, and Plans _________ 33 Works Cited _______________________________________________________________________ 35 Acronyms _________________________________________________________________________ 39 List of Tables and Figures Table 1. Acres of Treatments Involving Burning ____________________________________________ 1 Table 2: Resource Indicators and Measures for Assessing Effects _________________________ 6 Table 3. Siskiyou County 2010 Emissions Inventory in (tons/day) ______________________________ 9 Table 4. 2010 Emissions Inventory for Modoc County (tons per day) ____________________________ 9 Table 5. Sensitive Receptors within 6.3 Miles of the Harris Assessment Area ____________________ 10 Table 6. Harris Vegetation Management Project Burning and Estimated Particulate Emissions from Burning _______________________________________________________________________ 16 Harris Vegetation Management