Update: South Sacramento Conservation Agency adopts South Sacramento HCP at first meeting

The South Sacramento Conservation Agency, the joint powers authority formed to manage the South Sacramento Habitat Conservation Plan, voted at its initial meeting on Monday, Oct. 29, 2018, to adopt the HCP.  This action follows South Sacramento HCP adoption by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, Capital SouthEast Connector JPA Board of Directors, Rancho Cordova City Council and Galt City Council, who are partnering on development and implementation of the program.   The next and final step in South Sacramento HCP implementation is issuance of Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act permits to the plan partners by state and federal agencies.  That's expected early next year, in time for the 2019 construction season.

What is the South Sacramento HCP?

​The South Sacramento Habitat Conservation Plan (SSHCP) will streamline federal and state permitting processes for SSHCP-covered development and infrastructure projects while protecting habitat, open space and agricultural lands.  The SSHCP plan area encompasses 317,656 acres that are bordered by Highway 50 on the north, San Joaquin County on the south, El Dorado County and Amador County to the east, and the Sacramento River to the west, and includes Galt and most of Rancho Cordova.  Within the SSHCP plan area, 36,282 acres would become part of an interconnected preserve system, including approximately 1,000 acres of vernal pool habitat.  Twenty-eight plant and wildlife species, and their natural habitats, will be conserved under the plan.

The SSHCP is led by a multi-jurisdiction collaborative that includes Sacramento County; the cities of
Rancho Cordova and Galt; the Sacramento County Water Agency; the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District; and the Capital SouthEast Connector Joint Powers Authority.
  • Simplifies and expedites federal and state permitting
  • First-time integration of ESA and Sec. 404 permitting under existing federal regulations
  • Moves decision making to local level
  • Ensures long-term viability of 28 plant and wildlife species
  • Creates interconnected preserve system
  • Provides greater certainty about mitigation requirements, timing and cost for project applicants

SSHCP Key Benefits

The Opportunity

​1990 Sacramento County population: 1.04 million

2016 Sacramento County population: 1.5 million​​

2060 projected Sacramento County population (Calif. Dept. of Finance): 2.26 million
Sacramento County has grown significantly in recent decades.  Additional necessary growth is anticipated into the future and new development is subject to sensitive-species, wetlands and water-quality regulation. 
Because current processes for obtaining regulatory permits from federal agencies are handled on a project-by-project basis, they are time consuming, costly and unpredictable.  They also result in piecemeal mitigation and fragmented conservation, greatly reducing their benefits.  ​The SSHCP will:
  • Improve species and aquatic protection on a regional scale
  • Provide greater certainty for those subject to regulation
  • Save time in securing permits related to sensitive species, wetlands and water quality impacts