The Placer County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved furtherance of the Placer County Conservation Plan (PCCP) on September 23, and in doing so brought front-and-center the debate of how an environmentally superior solution that ensures the economic viability of all participating entities can be reached.
SACOG staff and Stacey McKinley, the regulatory consultant for the RUCS project, have been engaged over the last several months in the PCCP effort, seeking a strong connection to the Sacramento region's Blueprint, pursuit of the best possible data, and a winning solution for all SACOG member jurisdictions and partners in Placer County.
Continued involvement in the PCCP process will not only benefit the interests of cities and counties throughout the region, but will inform the linkage of Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) and Special Area Management Plans (SAMPs) across the region, and establish the framework for substantive regulatory reform.
Two days after the affirmative vote for the PCCP, McKinley and SACOG Executive Director Mike McKeever were in Washington, D.C. meeting with top officials at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They briefed Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) John Woodley, and his top deputy, Chip Smith, on the action taken on the PCCP and updated them on the RUCS project.
Secretary Woodley reaffirmed both policy and fiscal support for these efforts in the Sacramento region. Smith will be visiting the region on October 23, where he hopes to meet with SACOG Board members, receive a full briefing on the RUCS projects and HCPs/SAMPs, and to tour some key sites in the region.