Water Quality Certification Public Notices

Water Quality Certification Actions - Applicants for federal permits that involve dredge or fill activities in surface waters (including wetlands) are required to obtain certification from the state verifying that the activity will comply with state water quality standards. Most of these federal permits are referred to as 404 permits (in reference to Section 404 of the federal Clean Water Act). Applicants for some other types of federal license or permits (ex. FERC licenses) that authorize activities that may result in discharges to waters of the United States are also required to obtain state certification. This state certification is called 401 Certification (in reference to Section 401 of the Clean Water Act). In California, 401 certification actions are the responsibility of the State and Regional Water Quality Control Boards. It is the policy of this Regional Board to provide public notice of pending 401 Certification actions in order to gather comments from concerned agencies and the public. The following list contains notification of pending 401 Certification actions.

 Project Name WDID County  Location Description Comment period Contact Info
California Department of Transportation
CDOT Highway 299 PM 9.48 & 10.34 Burnt Ranch CAPM
(02-0J530)
1A25115WNTR Trinity

PM 9.48
40.834849°N,
123.488662°W

PM 10.34
40.823509°N,
123.483921°W

The Project will overlay approximately 6.7 miles of pavement from PM 8.3 to 15.0 on SR 299 near the community of Burnt Ranch in Trinity County and repair or replace deficient culverts. A left turn lane would be constructed at the Burnt Ranch School Road intersection (PM 11.53) to improve safety. Upland tree removal and slope stabilization would occur between PM 11.7 and PM 11.8. One jurisdictional culverts will be replaced upsized at PM 10.34, and a culvert at PM 9.48 will be repaired resulting in 290 linear feet (LF) of temporary impacts and 46 LF of permanent impacts to streams. A riparian area of 0.016 acres will be temporarily impacted. Upsizing will offset the permanent impacts, and the temporary stream and riparian impacts will be restored. Construction is planned over approximately 130 days during the 2026 construction season. September 26, 2025 through October 16, 2026 Susan Stewart
Susan.Stewart@waterboards.ca.gov
707-576-2657
California Department of Transportation
CDOT Highway 299 PM 0 - 43.4 Monument Fire Emergency Project (02-3J190)
1A24061WNTR Trinity

PM 16.47
40.79668°N, 123.40638°W

PM 16.61
40.79718°N, 123.40378°W

PM 16.85
40.79796°N, 123.39932°W

PM 17.97
40.79662°N, 123.39932°W

PM 21.09
40.78483°N, 123.33941°W

PM 28.53
40.74005°N, 123.25262°W

PM 30.39
40.74068°N, 123.22163°W

In August 2021 the Monument Fire burned approximately 140,000 acres, and damaged critical infrastructure in Trinity County on SR 299 from PM 0.0 to PM 43.4. The Project cleared slide material, removed hazard trees, stabilized slopes, and repaired or replaced retaining walls, guardrails, and seven jurisdictional drainage systems. Existing drainage systems were modified to withstand debris flows and flooding. Excess material was disposed of at a nearby quarry and additional disposal sites were developed on private property and on US Forest Service land. The Project resulted in temporary impacts of approximately 187.3 LF to streambed, and permanent impacts of approximately 353 LF (0.0221 acre) of streambed, and 0.1639 acre of riparian area. Temporary impacts to streams were restored at Project completion. Permanent impacts of 0.0011 acre to streambed were offset by culvert upsizing and daylighting. The remaining permanent impacts of 0.1849 acre will be mitigated offsite with 0.96 acre of riparian planting adjacent to South Fork Trinity River in an area that was badly burned. The construction work was completed over 13 months from August 2021 through September 2022. September 12, 2025 through October 2, 2025 Susan Stewart
Susan.Stewart@waterboards.ca.gov
707-576-2657