Green Acres Biosolids Land Application Project

The Green Acres Biosolids Land Application Project consists of two interrelated "subsequent activities" in the City's on-going biosolids program: (1) amend City Contract C-94375 for the loading, transportation and beneficial reuse of up to 800 tons of "Class A" biosolids per day at Green Acres Farm, and (2) purchase Green Acres Farm. Green Acres Farm consists of nearly 4,700 acres of land in unincorporated western Kern County where active farming has occurred since 1988. The site is about 15 miles southwest of the City of Bakersfield and is bounded to the east by Interstate Freeway I-5, to the north by State Route 119 (AKA Taft Highway), to the west by South Enos Lane and Coles Levee Road.

In 2005, the City was directed by a writ of mandate issued by the Tulare County Superior Court (Writ) to undertake an evaluation under Section 15168(c) of the CEQA guidelines to determine if additional CEQA review was required for the 2000 purchase of the site and the 2000 amendment of the RBM contract. Based on the Writ, an addendum to the 1989 and 1996 Biosolids Program EIR was prepared and approved by the City Council on December 8, 2010. In April 2012, the Court Order ruled that the addendum was inadequate to discharge the Writ and directed the City "to do a new Initial Study per §15168(c)(1), and to proceed thereafter as required by law." As directed by the court, the City has prepared an Initial Study and the Green Acres Biosolids Land Application EIR.

A final environmental impact report (Final EIR) was published and can be viewed using the link below. On December 12, 2014, the City Council of the City of Los Angeles (Council File 14-1566) approved the project, certified the Final EIR, adopted the Mitigation Monitoring Plan, and adopted Findings and Statement of Overriding Considerations. On December 15, 2014, a Notice of Determination (NOD) was filed with the Los Angeles County Clerk. Each of these documents may be viewed from the links below.