Forest Activities

• Program Overview
• Permitting
  • Timberland Management Activities on Non-Federal Lands (Private and State Lands)
  • Nonpoint Source Activities conducted by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
• Other Program Activities
• Subscribe for Program updates
• Contact Us
• Facts and Information

The Central Valley Water Board is responsible for ensuring compliance with the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) as well as California’s Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act (Act), the regional Water Quality Control Plans (Basin Plans). Compliance is ensured though implementation and enforcement of Waste Discharge Requirements or Waivers of Waste Discharge Requirements (permits). The Act and the Basin Plans establish controls for the discharge of materials that adversely affect the beneficial uses of the waters of the State. The Central Valley Water Board has the authority to take enforcement action, ranging from a notice of violation to issuing administrative civil liabilities (fines), against persons who violate the Act, a Basin Plan, or a permit.

The Central Valley Water Board has developed several permits for addressing NPS discharges associated with forest management activities on both non-federal and federal (U.S. Forest Service and BLM lands).  These permits and the processes for project approvals and permit issuance can be found under the Non-Federal Forest Lands and Federal Lands sections below.

General Order Waste Discharge Requirements (Order No. R5-2017-0061) for Timberland Management Activities on Non-Federal and Federal Lands. Adopted by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board on 9 June 2017.  Enrollment of activities conducted by the U.S. Forest Service will no longer be accepted under this Order (effective 13 December 2024). Activities conducted by the USFS and Bureau of Land Management on Federal Lands in the region are subject to WASTE DISCHARGE REQUIREMENTS ORDER R5-2024-0059 FOR NONPOINT SOURCE DISCHARGES RELATED TO CERTAIN ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED BY THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE AND THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT (effective 13 December 2024)

• Timber General Order (Including Attachment A - Definitions)
• Attachment B - Monitoring & Reporting Program
• Attachment C - Post-Fire Management and Reforestation Plan
• Attachment D - Information Sheet
• Enrollment Forms (Activities on Non-Federal Lands)
  • Category 2A Notice of Intent
    • Category 2A, Additional Landowner
  • Category 2B, 3A, 3B Notice of Intent
  • Category 4 Notice of Intent
  • Certification of Notice of Non-Applicability
• Termination Form (Activities on Non-Federal Lands)
  • Non-Federal Notice of Termination Form
• Monitoring Forms (Activities on Non-Federal Lands)
  • Implementation Form
  • Forensic Form
  • Photopoint Monitoring Field Form
  • Water Quality Monitoring Annual Report Additional Information
  • Combined Forms (All above documents included in one file)
    
• Enrollment Forms (Activities on Federal Lands)
  • Please refer to USFS and BLM Activities (section below)
• Termination Form (Activities on Federal Lands)
  • Federal Notice of Termination Form
• Monitoring Forms (Activities on Federal Lands)
  • Implementation Form (fillable)
  • Forensic Form (fillable)
  • Effectiveness Form (fillable)
  • Photopoint Monitoring Field Form (fillable)
  • Water Quality Monitoring Annual Report Additional Information
  • Combined Forms (All above documents included in one file)

Nonpoint Source Activities Conducted by the United States Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management

On 13 December 2024, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (Central Valley Water Board) adopted the Waste Discharge Requirements for Certain Activities Conducted by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management on the roughly 11 million acres of federal lands throughout the region (Federal NPS Order).

The Federal NPS Order was developed in coordination with the United States Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to meet several goals:

1. To ensure compliance with federal and state clean water laws and policies that require control of water quality pollution.
2. To provide regulatory coverage for a broad selection of projects undertaken by the USFS and BLM that have the potential to result or contribute to nonpoint source (NPS) pollution. 
3. To ensure regulatory compliance with water quality protection and remediation standards.
4. To reduce the burden of developing an individual permit for each project conducted by the USFS and BLM.

Activities covered under the Federal NPS Order include:

1. Vegetation Management. Actions taken to manage vegetation to restore and maintain the health, resiliency, and productivity across federal lands. Vegetation management activities covered under this Order include commercial and non-commercial timber harvest (including non-emergency post-wildfire operations), prescribed burning, mastication of fuels, pesticide use, or other means to meet vegetation management objectives.  
2. Transportation Management. Actions taken to manage motorized and non-motorized road and trail networks serving multiple uses across federal lands. Transportation management activities may include the construction, reconstruction, maintenance, or decommissioning of roads or trails, and associated watercourse crossings.  
3. Recreation Facilities Management. Actions taken to meet multiple-use objectives such as providing recreational opportunities for the public including construction, maintenance, and management of recreation facilities such as campgrounds, staging areas or parking lots, off highway vehicle areas, and managed recreation sites. 
4. Post-Emergency Recovery Activities. Actions taken after emergency actions in response to flooding, landslides, severe storm damage, wildfire, or other emergencies, have ceased and recovery activities begin AND where NEPA has been completed (including NEPA exemptions and Categorical Exclusions). Operations conducted as part of post-emergency recovery activities can include, but are not limited to, implementation of erosion and sediment controls, temporary watercourse crossing installation and removal, permanent watercourse crossing repair or replacement, timber salvage, hazard tree removal, revegetation activities, and pesticide application.  
5. Restoration Activities. Actions taken to improve, enhance, or sustain ecological health on federal lands. These activities are restorative in nature and are often designed to improve habitat, prevent degradation, and reduce long-term erosion and sedimentation to surface waters. Restoration activities may include watercourse crossing removal, channel and bank stabilization, stream channel and floodplain habitat enhancement, and wetland restoration.

Federal NPS Order

Please note: Projects enrolled under the Timber General Order (Order No. R5-2017-0061) may proceed under the conditions of that order until 15 August 2025 (including required submission of annual report(s) due by 15 August 2025). Coverage under the Timber General Order will be automatically terminated on 16 August 2025. For USFS activities that meet the criteria for Category B and will operate past 15 August 2025, an NPO must be submitted in accordance with the Federal NPS Order.

From 14 December 2024 through 13 December 2025, projects covered under Category B will have the initial and appurtenant road CSDS inventory requirements waived. All other provisions of the Federal NPS Order must be complied with, including the requirement to submit a Notice of Planned Operations (NPO), conduct monitoring and submit reports. Beginning 14 December 2025, projects covered under Category B will be required to comply with all Federal NPS Order requirements.

• Federal NPS Order No. R5-2024-0059 and all attachments
• Attachment A - Definitions
• Attachment B - Monitoring & Reporting Program
• Attachment C – CEQA Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program
• Attachment D – Specific Basin Plan Objectives
• Attachment E – Fact Sheet

Training

To ensure compliance with the Federal NPS Order, federal agency staff responsible for its implementation are required to complete a training course provided by the Central Valley Water Board.

This self-paced online course is designed to enhance understanding of Order R5-2024-0059. The estimated completion time is 3-4 hours. Upon successful completion, participants will receive a certificate valid for two years.

Training Program Enrollment

Training program enrollment options include pre-enrollment by Central Valley Water Board staff or self-enrollment.

Pre-enrollment:

If you wish to be pre-enrolled, please email the RB5 Federal NPS Order Training mailbox ( RB5R-FedNPSOrderTraining@waterboards.ca.gov ) and include R5-2024-0059 Training Request as the subject line. In your email, please include the following information for each individual you wish to enroll: Name, email address, and organization affiliation. Once enrolled, details for accessing the course will be emailed to you.

Self-Enrollment:

Self-Enroll on EdApp.com for the Federal Nonpoint Source Order Training and Certification course by Central Valley Water Board (https://link.edapp.com/93Htgr4FNCb)

To create an account, provide your email address, choose a password, and provide your first and last name. Once logged in, you can find the Federal Nonpoint Source Order Training and Certification course under “Library”.

For any questions, email the RB5 Federal NPS Order Training mailbox.

Forms/Templates/Guidance

• Notice of Planned Operations Form (Category B) (fillable)
• Pesticide Application Notification Form (Category A and B) (fillable)
• Discharge Incident Notification Form (fillable)
• CSDS Inventory Table (Excel fillable)
• CSDS Inventory Instructions (pdf)
• Monitoring Considerations

Frequently Asked Questions

• Frequently Asked Questions document (pdf)

Other Program Activities

The Central Valley Water Board’s Forest Activities Program staff are involved in a host of activities related to forestland management. These include the following:

• Participation in the Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration Program (TRFRP)
  Central Valley Water Board Forest Activities program staff are members of the TRFRP leadership team and various related working groups. TRFRP provides statewide guidance to a variety of timber harvest related activities, including regulation, interagency coordination, restoration, grants, monitoring, improving regulatory efficiencies, training, etc.  
• Participation in the CAL FIRE Review Team Process
  Central Valley Water Board program staff coordinates with CAL FIRE, the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the California Geological Survey in the review of commercial timber harvest projects on non-federal lands. Detailed review and field inspections by Board staff are reserved for those projects that appear to pose the greatest potential threat to water quality. This effort constitutes a proactive approach to prevent timber harvest related impacts on water quality and assists in ensuring additional management measures are implemented to ensure water quality protection where necessary (beyond those required by the California Board of Forestry’s Forest Practice Rules) where necessary to comply with Porter-Cologne, and Basin Plan objectives
• Participation in the California Board of Forestry Committees and Rule Making Process
  Program staff attend select Board of Forestry committee and regular meetings where proposed rule changes relating to water quality protection are drafted and then considered for adoption.
• Provide assistance to CalRecycle and CalOES
  Program staff provide guidance and assistance during implementation of debris and hazard tree removal activities in the post-fire environment to ensure those who lost their homes and/or livelihoods are able to return and rebuild as quickly and safely as possible.
• Addressing complaints related to water quality
  Staff provides timely response for water quality complaints related to forestland management.
• Coordination with the State Water Resource Control Board, CAL FIRE and Other Regional Boards
  Staff works with the State Water Board and other regional boards to coordinate review and oversight of forest activities, comment on proposed legislation, and communicate regularly on issues with the potential to affect the program.
• Conducting Outreach To Industry, Federal Agencies and Watershed Groups
  Staff works with local watershed groups to address concerns regarding water quality issues associated with forest activities. Staff also communicates with the regulated industry by speaking at conferences and industry group meetings.
• Enforcement Actions
  Staff initiates enforcement actions in the form of Notices of Violation for corrective actions, Cleanup and Abatement Orders, or civil penalties for those activities that violate water quality requirements and threaten to adversely affect water quality.