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Humboldt Regional Climate Action Plan
The County of Humboldt has collaborated with incorporated cities of Arcata, Blue Lake, Eureka, Ferndale, Fortuna, Rio Dell and Trinidad, and the Humboldt Waste Management Authority, Humboldt Transit Authority, Humboldt County Association of Governments and Redwood Coast Energy Authority, to develop a regional climate action plan. The plan aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across Humboldt County by addressing emissions from vehicle travel, electricity use, natural gas consumption and other local sources. It outlines measures related to carbon-free energy, building energy use, transportation, waste, water/wastewater, carbon sequestration and refrigerants. The plan’s emissions reduction goals align with California's state targets of reducing emissions by 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 and 85% below 1990 levels by 2045 while achieving carbon neutrality.
Final Humboldt Regional Climate Action Plan
The Board of Supervisors approved the Humboldt Regional Climate Action Plan (RCAP) at the hearing on December 16, 2025. Board approved documents for the RCAP can be found below.
Final Humboldt Regional Climate Action Plan
Appendix A - Climate Regulatory Context
Appendix B - GHG Inventory Forecast and Targets Report
Appendix C - GHG Measure Reduction Quantification and Substantial Evidence Report
Resolution to Adopt the Humboldt Regional Climate Action Plan
CEQA GHG Emissions Streamlining Checklist
Final Environmental Impact Report
A Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) has been prepared for the Humboldt Regional Climate Action Plan and CEQA GHG Emissions Thresholds. The FEIR includes the Draft EIR (DEIR), comments that were received on the DEIR and the County's responses to those comments, as well as any errata identified in the DEIR in response to comments. A separate errata was done for the FEIR to further clarify the project description for GHG Emissions Thresholds. The Board of Supervisors considered and certified the EIR for the RCAP and GHG Emissions Thresholds at the hearing on Tuesday December 16, 2025. Board approved documents for the FEIR are available in the links below.
Final Environmental Impact Report for RCAP and CEQA GHG Emissions Thresholds
Errata to the Final Environmental Impact Report
CEQA Greenhouse Gas Emissions Thresholds
The County has adopted CEQA GHG Thresholds to assess future development projects impacts to GHG emissions under CEQA. These thresholds are used when a project cannot show consistency with the RCAP and need to conduct a project specific analysis for GHG emissions. A CEQA GHG Thresholds and Guidance Report was prepared which gives guidance on how to conduct a project specific analysis. Thresholds that were adopted by the Board of Supervisors can be found in the Resolution to Adopt CEQA GHG Emissions Thresholds and in the table provided below.
| New Residential | New Non-Residential | New Mixed-Use1 |
Urban | 2.36 MT CO2e per resident | 5.28 MT CO2e per full-time equivalent employee | 3.37 MT CO2e per service person2 |
Rural | 2.38 MT CO2e per resident | 5.30 MT CO2e per full-time equivalent employee | 3.30 MT CO2e per service person |
Notes: MT CO2e = metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. 1: GHG emissions from new mixed-use development would count against the total remaining GHG emissions budget for both new residential and new non-residential development rather than as a function of the number of new service people expected in 2030. This avoids double counting. 2: The service population is equal to the residential population plus the number of full-time equivalent employees.
CEQA GHG Thresholds and Guidance Report
Resolution to Adopt CEQA GHG Emissions Thresholds
Draft Environmental Impact Report
On Friday, August 30, 2024 the County of Humboldt’s Planning & Building Department filed a Notice of Preparation for the Humboldt Regional Climate Action Plan EIR. This initiated a 30-day public scoping period for the EIR.
Humboldt County has prepared a programmatic Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the Humboldt Regional Climate Action Plan (RCAP) as well as CEQA Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) Emissions Thresholds. The RCAP includes strategies, measures, and actions addressing communitywide GHG emissions across unincorporated and incorporated portions of the County and establishes a target of a 40 percent reduction in GHG emissions below 1990 levels by 2030 and a longer-term goal of carbon neutrality by 2045. The 2030 GHG emissions target was selected to be consistent with California Senate Bill (SB) 32 State emissions targets and the CEQA Guidelines for a qualified GHG emissions reduction strategy, and to be achievable by the actions identified in the RCAP. To achieve the Humboldt 2030 GHG emissions reduction target, the County has developed 30 measures related to carbon-free energy, building energy use, transportation, waste, water/wastewater, carbon sequestration, and refrigerants. In addition, the County proposes to adopt quantitative CEQA GHG emissions thresholds for use in evaluating whether a future plan or project’s GHG emissions would result in a potentially significant environmental impact under CEQA for plans or projects with pre-2030 buildout or initial operational years.
Draft Environmental Impact Report for the RCAP and CEQA GHG Emissions Thresholds
To access individual Draft EIR chapters, please go to https://ceqanet.opr.ca.gov/2024081319/3.
Review period for the DEIR was from February 18, 2025, through April 5, 2025.
Public Workshop on the Humboldt Regional Climate Action Plan and CEQA GHG Emissions Thresholds
The County held a public workshop on the Humboldt RCAP and CEQA GHG Emissions Thresholds at the Planning Commission hearing on Thursday, August 7, 2025. The meeting discussed the structure and targets of the RCAP along with the proposed CEQA GHG Emissions Thresholds to be adopted for future development project review.
Draft EIR Public Meeting
A public meeting to present the Draft EIR for the Regional Climate Action Plan and to receive comments was held on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, at 6 p.m. at the Wharfinger building in Eureka. This was a hybrid in-person and virtual meeting. If you were unable to attend the meeting, please see the link to the recording on our YouTube site below, as well as the Slide Deck from the presentation.
Draft EIR Public Meeting Recording
EIR Public Scoping Meeting
The Humboldt County Planning & Building Department hosted a public scoping meeting to take public comment from interested parties on the scope and content of the EIR. The scoping meeting was held on Tuesday, September 17, 2024 at 3:30 p.m. at the Humboldt County Agricultural Center, located at 5630 S. Broadway in Eureka.
If you were unable to attend the Public Scoping Meeting, the recording is available on YouTube.
Draft RCAP Public Meeting
A public meeting to discuss the draft plan with the community was held on Tuesday, September 10, 2024 at 6 p.m. at the Wharfinger Building, located at 1 Marina Way in Eureka. A copy of the slide deck for the presentation is available below.
For questions about the Humboldt Regional Climate Action Plan, please contact planner Megan Acevedo by email at macevedo@co.humboldt.ca.us.
The County of Humboldt is committed to providing equal access to all county programs, services and activities through the provision of accommodations for individuals with qualified disabilities as required under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). With 72 hours prior notice, a request for reasonable accommodation for review of public documents can be made by calling 844-365-0352.
CAP Refinement For Unincorporated Areas of Humboldt County
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors (BOS) reviewed the draft Regional Climate Action Plan (CAP) at its June 7, 2022 meeting and asked county Planning staff to evaluate refinements to the CAP. After staff reviewed the draft CAP with the consultants hired to conduct the environmental review, it became apparent that the draft CAP did not contain substantial evidence for reaching a CEQA-qualified CAP. County staff decided to go to the BOS on October 17, 2023 to request revisions to the draft CAP in order to: to refine measures and actions such that the goals are reasonable and well supported by substantial evidence, include more specific measures tailored for the rural areas in the region and to adhere to more current guidance from the Governor's Office of Planning & Research. The revised CAP will include an updated GHG analysis, CAP strategies and substantial evidence documentation such that the CAP meets the requirements defined for a CEQA-qualified GHG Reduction Plan. The proposal for CAP revisions was approved by the BOS, and specific information regarding the proposal can be found in the Refocus CAP document.
The county has been working with the incorporated cities and other agencies in the Humboldt region in order to include reasonable measures and actions in the updates to the draft CAP and to develop a document that meets the requirements of a CEQA-qualified CAP. The new anticipated timeline for releasing the updated Regional Climate Action Plan draft to the public is July of 2024.
An interactive survey was released on Wednesday, May 15 for all interested parties to participate in as the updated draft CAP moves into the environmental review process.
This survey provides background information on the GHG analysis conducted as part of the CAP and established GHG reduction targets, as well as information regarding the development process of effective strategies. The survey was prepared using an interactive online survey platform used to simulate different scenarios or planning outcomes.
The county, incorporated jurisdictions, and local agencies have developed a series of strategies to include in the CAP that are supported by substantial evidence and have been vetted for their feasibility. The survey presents these sector-based strategies and asks respondents to select their preferred combination of strategies to reach Humboldt’s emissions reduction goals. The intent of the survey is to gain insight into which strategies in the draft CAP are considered to be the highest priority from the publics’ perspective, and will inform the county and cities on where to prioritize their efforts and resources for reducing local GHG emissions. If you would like to participate, please email Associate Planner Megan Acevedo at macevedo@co.humboldt.ca.us.
To stay informed of upcoming meetings, please considerer signing up for email or text notifications through this website's notification system called Notify Me.
Check General Plan Implementation at: Notify Me
New Anticipated Timeline for Humboldt Regional CAP.
- Regional CAP Release for Public Review will occur in August 2024.
- Adoption of Regional CAP EIR will occur in summer of 2025.
Public Input Process
In addition to the public workshops conducted so far, the cities and the County will be providing robust public engagement opportunities while drafting of the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and formal adoption of the CAP by each of the jurisdictions. To sign up for regular email updates, email Megan Acevedo at Macevedo@co.humboldt.ca.us.
Upcoming Meetings
Previous CAP Meetings
- Public Meeting on the Humboldt Regional CAP on Tuesday, September 10 at 6 p.m. at the Wharfinger Building, located at 1 Marina Way in Eureka.
- Humboldt State University Climate Action Forum, 4/24/2019
- Arcata Introductory CAP Workshop, 5/20/2019
- Redway Introductory CAP Workshop, 6/04/2019
- McKinleyville Introductory CAP Workshop, 6/12/2019
- Willow Creek Introductory CAP Workshop, 6/18/2019
- Eureka Introductory CAP Workshop, 1/15/2020
What is a CAP?
A Climate Action Plan is a comprehensive road map that outlines the specific activities a local government will undertake to reduce GHG emissions within their jurisdiction. They typically include agency-developed policies and programs to reduce emissions from transportation, building energy, solid waste, wastewater treatment and agriculture.
Why Develop a CAP?
The State of California requires local governments to assess and mitigate the GHG emissions associated with their major projects. CAPs have proven the most effective way to meet this requirement. According to CARB in 2019, over 40% of cities and counties in California have created a GHG reduction plan (also called a Climate Action Plan).
The benefits to reducing emissions go beyond climate change. With this CAP, the County will work with residents to develop emissions reduction strategies that enhance our local economy, improve community health and build resilience to climate-related hazards.
A Regional CAP for Humboldt County
In early 2019, Humboldt County local governments decided to take a regional approach to climate action planning. The Regional CAP partnership consisted of Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA), the County of Humboldt and the incorporated cities of Arcata, Eureka, Blue Lake, Ferndale, Fortuna, Rio Dell and Trinidad. More recently, additional agencies have been brought into the discussions around County wide actions and mitigation measures to be included in the final CAP. These agencies include Humboldt Waste Management Authority (HWMA), Humboldt County Association of Governments (HCAOG), Recology, Forestry Advisors, and Humboldt Transit Authority (HTA). Together, these local governments and agencies are working to develop strategies to reduce emissions throughout our region.