USE PERMIT APPLICATION NO. PLN2025-0011 – Couco Creek

Stanislaus County has approved a use permit application for the establishment of a biogas pipeline injection site on a 307± acre parcel located in the General Agriculture (A-2-40) zoning district near Turlock, California. The project, submitted by Couco Creek Dairy Biogas, LLC, involves collecting biogas from an on-site anaerobic dairy digester and two off-site digesters, then injecting it directly into a Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) natural gas pipeline on the property. The approval was granted under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) via a Mitigated Negative Declaration, which concluded that the project would not have a significant environmental impact, and no mitigation measures or monitoring requirements were deemed necessary. The applicant submitted required documentation including a Notice of Exemption, a California Department of Fish and Wildlife No Effect Determination, and paid regulatory fees totaling $3,025.75, covering both the environmental filing fee and a county documentary handling charge. The permitting process was administered entirely at the local level by Stanislaus County’s Department of Planning and Community Development, with no involvement of federal acquisition regulations or contractual clauses. There is no federal contract vehicle, no FAR or DFARS clauses applicable, and no procurement competition or evaluation factors were involved, as this is a land use and environmental permitting action, not a federal procurement. The Place of Performance is clearly defined as the parcel bounded by 3426 S Commons Road and 0 Faith Home Road in Turlock, and the primary contact for the county is Emily DeAnda, Associate Planner. Payment for fees was directed to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife or the county, and submissions were accepted physically at the Modesto office, with no electronic portals or standardized digital formats specified. The project’s success hinges on regulatory compliance and operational execution of the biogas injection system, with no contractual performance metrics, inspection criteria, or delivery schedules defined beyond the initial environmental approval and fee payment.