Memorandum
Date: March 5, 2024
To: The Honorable Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: Moke Simon, District 1 Supervisor and Chair of the Lake County Community Risk Reduction Authority Joint Powers Authority
Jessica Pyska, District 5 Supervisor and Vice-Chair of the Lake County Community Risk Reduction Authority Joint Powers Authority
Terre Logsdon, Chief Climate Resiliency Officer/Tribal Liaison
Subject: 9:45 A.M. - Consideration of an Update on Lake County Community Risk Reduction Authority’s Inclusion in Biomass Aggregation Pilot Project
Executive Summary:
For several years, directors of the Lake County Community Risk Reduction Authority (RRA) requested that the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) admit the RRA into the statewide Biomass Aggregation Pilot Project. The intent of these pilot projects is to form or modify the scope of Joint Powers Authorities (JPAs) to serve as biomass brokers for forested lands, both public and private, hire staff, apply for and manage grant funds, and more. Lake County is one of two counties in California with a wildfire prevention JPA, making the RRA’s admission into the pilot project more attractive to the State.
As your Board will recall, at your November 28, 2023 meeting, Terre Logsdon, Chief Climate Resiliency Officer and Tribal Liaison, presented an overview of OPR’s Biomass Aggregation Pilot Project during a presentation about the RRA’s grant application to the Regional Climate Collaboratives, Round 2 grant program. That presentation included information about OPR’s pilot project goals, and different models for forming JPAs to improve forest biomass feedstock supply chains by providing a feedstock supply agreement that includes a publicly managed price mechanism and contract risk protection. The RRA was seeking funding to position itself to copy what earlier pilot projects had accomplished. Since that presentation, the RRA was invited to join the pilot project.
Today, Ms. Logsdon will again present the framework for the Biomass Aggregation Pilot Projects and also include the goals of the draft contract the RRA has approved to join the pilot projects when the consultant selection is complete. Funding under this contract for the next year is expected to be $175,000, with the following deliverables, and if successfully executed, $1-$2 million dollars in seed monies in the following year or two if appropriated:
• Creation of a public entity model report to guide how to modify the existing Lake County Community Risk Reduction Authority JPA (RRA) to operate as a woody biomass feedstock broker.
• Summary and report of recently completed feedstock feasibility assessments in the county.
• Creation of a sustainable financing model report.
The RRA is expected to receive this award May 1, 2024.
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