We are calling on loyal supporters like you to help us defend California’s forests and critically vulnerable environmental justice communities.
Golden State Natural Resources (GSNR) is seeking approval for the largest wood pellet production project in the country, from Golden State Finance Authority (GSFA), whose affiliate is the Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC). EPIC is working with a broad coalition of environmental groups and community organizations to oppose the project, which would pose threats to our forests and communities in the Bay Area. And with your support, we can stop this dirty mega-biomass project in its tracks.
The GSNR Forest Resiliency Demonstration Project would construct and operate three facilities: two wood pellet production facilities, one in Tuolumne County and one in Lassen County, and a storage and shipping facility in the Port of Stockton. Together the facilities would produce 1,000,000 megatons (MT) of wood pellets per year that then would be exported to burn in power plants overseas. The Project would also authorize “wildfire resilience and forest restoration” projects on a programmatic level, which would provide over 890,000 MT of roundwood for the facilities per year.
The proposed wood pellet mills in Lassen and Tuolumne counties and the storage/export facility in Stockton would cause significant and unavoidable environmental impacts. In Lassen, the plant’s emissions would exceed air district limits for hazardous pollutants like particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5), nitrogen oxide (NOx), and carbon monoxide (CO), conflicting with local air quality plans. Tuolumne’s facility would similarly exceed CO limits and pose serious cancer risks to nearby residents. The Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the Project estimates the cancer risk in Lassen to be over twice and in Tuolumne more than four times the California Environmental Quality Act significance threshold, even after mitigation.
At the Port of Stockton’s wood pellet storage and export terminal, the project would generate significant NOx emissions and contribute to cumulatively significant PM2.5 (fine soot) pollution in an area already failing to meet national PM2.5 air quality standards. This is particularly concerning for a community that is already considered to be critically impacted by air pollution.
The fire resilience and restoration projects are also mostly logging projects in disguise. The proposed logging would take place primarily in remote areas, far from communities, rather than focusing on vegetation management near communities where it would most effectively reduce wildfire risk. Although the DEIR asserts that the project would enhance management of dense forests to mitigate wildfire danger, only 27% of the project area’s forests are classified as “overcrowded,” with just 15.5% consisting of high-density stands. These projects ignore other, more effective forms of wildfire resilience and restoration such as cultural fire, home hardening, and prescribed fire.
While the logging projects will directly impact a small portion of Humboldt County, the broader concern is that the Project’s demand for feedstock could drive increased logging, influencing local forest management practices and potentially paving the way for similar projects closer to home. The Project raises significant concerns about the environmental sustainability of large-scale biomass energy, given that burning wood pellets releases about 80% as much carbon dioxide as burning coal.
EPIC is actively collaborating with a coalition of organizations to oppose this project through advocacy at multiple levels. We will be submitting written comments on the DEIR, which you review here and submit your own comments on by January 20, 2025.
Please donate today! Your contribution will directly support EPIC’s work to oppose GSNR’s proposed mega-biomass project.
Here’s how you can help:
$25 – Keeps our office lights on and internet connected.
$50 – Helps cover staff time for essential policy and legal research.
$100 – Contributes to travel expenses for staff and supporters to do in-person advocacy.
$250+ – Allows EPIC to hire policy and legal experts to help review this and other projects.
Every dollar counts, and every donation, big or small, will help us reach our goal and ensure this vital environmental protection continues. Together, we can stop this project and protect forests and environmental justice communities for generations to come.
Donate now and help us keep up the fight! Your support means the world to us—and to the wild places we all love. Thank you for standing with us.
Have questions or want to talk about the project? Don’t hesitate to reach out! We're happy to chat about how your donation makes a real impact.
With gratitude,
The EPIC team
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