Notice of Availability: Draft Environmental Impact Report for Draft 2026 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy and EIR

Notice of Availability: Draft Environmental Impact Report for Draft 2026 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy and EIR Notice is hereby given that the Tulare County Association of Governments (TCAG) has released the following documents for public review and comment and will be holding a public hearing to receive public comment: the Draft 2026 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS) and the Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) prepared for the 2026 RTP/SCS. PROPOSED PROJECT: 2026 Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy (2026 RTP/SCS). SCH # 2025053709 DRAFT EIR PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT PERIOD: The Draft EIR has been released for a 45-day public review/comment period, from Thursday, June 18, 2026, to Monday, August 3, 2026. Written comments on the Draft EIR should be e-mailed to Steven Ingoldsby at SIngoldsby@tularecag.ca.gov using subject line "2026 RTP/SCS Draft EIR" or mailed to: TCAG 2026 RTP/SCS Draft EIR Attention: Steven Ingoldsby 210 N. Church Street, Suite B Visalia, CA 93291 PROJECT LOCATION: The 2026 RTP/SCS covers the entire area of Tulare County and includes the cities of Dinuba, Exeter, Farmersville, Lindsay, Porterville, Tulare, Visalia, and Woodlake, as well as unincorporated communities in the county. Capital improvement transportation projects, identified in the proposed 2026 RTP/SCS, are located on State highways, County roads, and locally owned streets, as well as on transit district property and public utility lands. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The proposed 2026 RTP/SCS is an update to the current 2022 RTP/SCS that was adopted in August 2022. The proposed 2026 RTP/SCS reflects changes in legislative requirements, local land use policies, and resource constraints that have occurred since adoption of the current 2022 RTP/SCS. The 2026 update to the 2022 RTP/SCS is focused on continued implementation of the 2022 RTP/SCS, with updates to ensure consistency with federal, State, and local planning requirements. As have past RTPs, the proposed 2026 RTP/SCS shows how the region can invest limited transportation funds to maintain, operate and improve an integrated, multi-modal transportation system with the purpose of facilitating the efficient movement of people and goods. The updated plan identifies specific strategies, policies, and actions, including a list of programmed and planned transportation projects feasibly within the region's anticipated transportation funding levels, to meet the current and future needs of the region. The planning horizon of the proposed 2026 RTP/SCS is 2049. PROBABLE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS: The Draft EIR provides an analysis of environmental impacts related to the implementation of the 2026 RTP/SCS. It discloses significant effects for the following resource categories: aesthetics, agriculture, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, paleontological resources, greenhouse gases, hazards and hazardous materials, hydrology and water quality, noise, public services, recreation, transportation, tribal cultural resources, utilities and service systems, and wildfire. PUBLIC HEARING: The Tulare County Association of Governments (TCAG) will hold a public hearing to receive comments on the 2026 RTP/SCS and its Draft EIR and related documents on July 1 2026, at 10:00 A.M. in the TCAG offices located at 210 North Church Street, Suite B, Visalia, CA 93291 Members of the public may attend the meeting in person or virtually. Virtual attendance instructions are as follows: Zoom Meeting | Direct Link: https://bit.ly/4ozx2H9 Toll-Free Call-in Number: 1(888) 475-4499 | Meeting ID: 817 6664 9589 Passcode: 2049 Call in only instructions: Enter your meeting ID followed by #, Enter # for participant ID, Enter the passcode followed by # AVAILABILITY OF DOCUMENTS FOR REVIEW: The documents can be downloaded at https://tularecog.org/tcag/planning/rtp/rtp-2026. Copies of the Draft EIR are available for inspection upon request. Electronic copies of the Draft EIR are also available for viewing at the following locations: TCAG Office, 210 N. Church Street, Suite B, Visalia, CA 93291 – (559) 623-0450 Visalia Branch Library, 200 W. Oak Avenue, Visalia, CA 93291 – (559) 713-2700 Dinuba Branch Library, 150 S. I Street, Dinuba, CA 93618 – (559) 591-5829 Lindsay Branch Library, 157 N. Mirage Street, Lindsay, CA 93247 – (559) 562-3021 HAZARDOUS WASTE SITES: The following statement is required to be included in this notice pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15087(c)(6). The 2026 RTP/SCS location contains numerous hazardous waste sites as enumerated under California Government Code Section 65962.5. June 18 2026 LYRK0539319