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jmf 1/05/21 <br />notwithstanding the fact that formaldehyde is readily biodegradable <br />and complete degradation of formaldehyde can be accomplished in <br />less than 30 days. <br />Bird Collisions - SAFER argues that the potential for birds to be <br />harmed by flying into windows constitutes "significant new <br />information" requiring the preparation of a subsequent EIR, merely <br />because new studies related to that issue and the extent of bird <br />decline in general have come out in recent years. SAFER submits <br />comments from ecologist Shawn Smallwood, Ph. D. The information <br />submitted by SAFER contradicts its assertion that this is a new issue <br />that could not have been raised prior to the certification of the MEMU <br />EIR. Dr. Smallwood's own letter indicates that window collisions <br />have been known to be one of the largest sources of human -caused <br />bird mortality for years, and cites numerous studies attempting to <br />quantity such fatalities going back to 1976. Thus, this alleged impact <br />could have been raised prior to the certification of the MEMU EIR, <br />and clearly does not trigger the need for further analysis under <br />Section 15162. <br />V. SAFER notes that the MEMU EIR Mitigation and Monitoring <br />Reporting Program (MMRP) requires that the Project site be <br />investigated for evidence of hazardous materials contamination <br />"prior to issuance of grading permits," and argues that such measure <br />improperly defers mitigation. But again, it is too late to challenge the <br />adequacy of the analysis done in the MEMU EIR or the sufficiency <br />of the mitigation measures adopted when the Overlay was approved. <br />Moreover, SAFER has not identified any evidence that hazardous <br />materials are present on the site, and even when contamination is <br />known to exist, there is nothing improper about a mitigation measure <br />that requires such contamination be investigated and remediated <br />after project approval. <br />VI. Senate Bill 743 enacted in 2013 and codified in Public Resources <br />Code 21099, directed the Governor's Office of Planning and <br />Research (OPR) to develop new guidelines governing the evaluation <br />of transportation impacts, and provides that upon certification of such <br />guidelines, automobile delay, as measured by "level of service" and <br />other similar metrics, shall generally not be considered a significant <br />impact on the environment for purposes of CEQA. In 2018, OPR <br />proposed, and the California Natural Resources Agency certified and <br />adopted, new CEQA Guidelines Section 15064.3 that identifies <br />vehicle miles traveled ("VMT") — meaning the amount and distance <br />of automobile travel attributable to a project — as the most <br />appropriate metric to evaluate a project's transportation impacts. <br />Though CEQA Guidelines Section 15064.3 took effect statewide on <br />Resolution No. 2021-XXX <br />Page 6 of 12 <br />