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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McGinnis Creek Instream Habitat Enhancement Project | 1B24027WNHU | Humboldt | 40.305459°N, 124.237359°W | This Project would enhance instream habitat for salmonids in McGinnis Creek, within the Mattole River watershed, by strategically placing whole trees with rootwads into the creek. Roughly 400 trees, in bundles of one to five trees, would be placed by helicopter at 50 locations within the stream. Temporary impacts to McGinnis Creek from canopy removal and the placement of large woody material would total 2.27 acres and 1,200 linear feet. Compensatory mitigation would not be required as the placement of the large wood will enhance habitat within the stream. The proposed start date is September 1, 2024 and would take up to 6 weeks. | June 26 through July 16 | Shannon Strong shannon.strong@waterboards.ca.gov 707-576-2499 |
| Mill Creek Coho Salmon Habitat Restoration | TBD | Siskiyou | 41.921954, -123.468623 | The Project will enhance habitat for Coho salmon by installing nineteen large wood structures along Mill Creek, tributary to Indian Creek, in the Klamath River Watershed. An estimated 60-100 logs will be employed for the project. An excavator will be used to uproot on-site trees to retain the root wads. An earthen berm that is blocking a historic side channel will be removed with the objective of reopening and reactivating the side channel to increase habitat during higher flows. The berm to be excavated is approximately 50 square yards in area and approximately two yards in depth, resulting in the production of approximately 100 cubic yards of fill material removed. Spoils will primarily be disposed of by refilling holes created by the removal of trees with root wads. The remaining fill material will be dispersed evenly over the existing non-system roads. | June 21 through July 11 | Jake Shannon Jacob.Shannon@Waterboards.ca.gov |
| Doolittle Creek Coho Salmon Habitat Restoration | TBD | Siskiyou | 41.828112, -123.400745 | The Mid-Klamath Watershed Council, in consultation with the Karuk Tribe and Klamath National Forest, has developed a restoration design on 1.47 miles () of Doolittle Creek, a tributary to Indian Creek in Siskiyou County, California (see Map). The project reach on Doolittle Creek is from the 17N11 bridge over Doolittle Creek downstream to the border of private property, an area that was severely burned in the 2020 Slater Fire. The goal of the project is to improve habitat for Coho salmon along a 7,750-foot reach of Doolittle Creek, tributary to the Klamath River. The objectives of the Project are to retain and sort gravel for spawning Coho salmon and other salmonids, increase slow-water habitats, and provide cover for juvenile and adult life stages. Approximately 25 and 30 large wood structures would be constructed, which would result in overall density of 17 to 20 structures per mile. Each structure would consist of three to four logs including at least one key piece 24 inches DBH (diameter at breast height) or greater. Each structure would be a maximum of 45 feet parallel to the stream channel and 45 feet perpendicular to the stream channel. Structures would be augmented with onsite small woody debris. There would be no mechanical disturbance involved in this project other than chainsaws and use of a hand-operated cable hoist to drag logs into place. Wood structures would be constructed by means of selective felling of burned dead-standing trees between 16 and 44 inches DBH into the immediate stream channel. One 49-inch DBH tree was selected as it was deemed to be a roadside hazard tree. Trees selected for use in this project are primarily Douglas-fir. | June 21 through July 11 | Jake Shannon Jacob.Shannon@Waterboards.ca.gov |
| Worswick Gravel Bar - Eel River Gravel Extraction Project | 1B02129WNHU | Humboldt | 40.609649°, -124.190319° | The County of Humboldt proposes to extract gravel annually from up to 10 acres (temporary impact) of the Worswick Gravel Bar (Eel River). Annual extraction of up to 25,000 cubic yards of river-run aggregate per year from the lower Eel River is proposed. Mining would occur during the summer low-flow season. The proposed extraction period would occur between June and October each year. Processing and stockpiling would occur in the pre-existing stockpile area. Annual extraction activities would follow the County of Humboldt Extraction Review Team (CHERT) process and the US Army Corps of Engineers Letter of Permission. Seasonal drafting of water for dust control during operations is proposed. Equipment, fuels, lubricants, and solvents associated with extraction and processing activities would be stored within the upland area of the site. Equipment would be inspected for leaks. Post-extraction, area would be graded to facilitate free drainage and to prevent fish stranding. Temporary stockpiles would be removed from the bar and temporary haul roads may be scarified to reduce compaction. All gravel material extracted would be stored at an upland storage site. |
June 20 through July 11 | Amanda Piscitelli, amanda.piscitelli@waterboards.ca.gov (707) 445-6126 |
| Caltrans EA 04-2K260 SON 116 Slide Repair Project at Post Mile 9.4-9.55 | 1B24046WNSO | Sonoma | 38.48129 N, 123.00119 W | The purpose of the Project is to repair a slopeand drainage system damaged by storm- and erosion-induced landslides, and to prevent future landslides onto this segment of SR 116. This would be accomplished by building a 620-foot long soil nail retaining wall as well as improving and adding new drainage inlets and piping to the current drainage systems. The project will includeapproximately 210 linear feet of temporary impacts to channels to replace drainage systems that discharge to the Russian River. The project also includes permanent impacts to riparian (approx 0.075 acres) and approximately 0.0013 acres of wetlands. Caltrans proposes to treat the new and reworked impervious surfaces by installing an appropriately sized biostrip. Permanent impacts are proposed to be mitigated by purchase of mitigation bank credits or permittee responsible project approved prior to impacts being conducted. work will be conducted between May 2025 and November 2026 with work within the channel only occuring during the dry season May - October. | June 14 through July 4 | Gil Falcone gil.falcone@waterboards.ca.gov |
| Russ Creek & Centerville Slough Restoration Project | 1B24056WNHU | Humboldt | 40.608185, -124.325782 | The Project will improve geomorphic and ecosystem function to enhance habitats for native fisheries and aquatic species, support water bird and wildlife species, and protect agricultural land and resiliency to changing geomorphological and climatic conditions. The Project will enhance existing tidal wetlands and restore marginal diked pastureland to a mosaic of natural habitats, including estuarine and tidal slough channels, freshwater streams, and agricultural pastures. Specific objectives of the Project include: Restore natural functions and processes of tidal cycles, riverine inundation and sedimentation, tidal channel connectivity, and wetlands maintenance by removing or modifying existing infrastructure and reestablishing historic tidal channels; Increase resiliency of existing agricultural lands to sea level rise by reconfiguring dikes and enhancing dune function that promotes natural dune formation processes that reduce over wash during extreme high tides and storm events; Improve access for agricultural land management, maintenance, outdoor recreation, and nature study compatible with existing land uses and the ACEP-WRE conservation easements; Enhance native plant communities and expansion of rare plant habitat through active and passive habitat development, control and eradication of invasive non-native species, and establishment of native species; Improve access to restored aquatic habitats for salmonids and other aquatic-dependent species by increasing migratory access between estuarine and inland waters and by restoring overwintering and rearing habitat for juvenile salmonids; Improve drainage efficiency and sediment transport while enhancing tidal processes by reestablishing connectivity of Russ Creek and Shaw Creek to a restored Centerville Slough; and Implement long-term maintenance and operation activities for the Project. Due to unforeseeable timing constraints that could jeopardize the Project’s funding and risk postponement of implementation and delays to the water quality benefits that the Project will provide; the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board may issue the 401 Water Quality Certification concurrent with this public notice period. All comments will still be received and addressed, as appropriate. | June 5 through June 26 | Shannon Strong shannon.strong@waterboards.ca.gov 707-576-2499 |
