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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Lake Bar Gravel Extraction Project | 1B26049WNHU | Humboldt | 40.8749°, -124.0003° | The project would permit extraction and stockpiling of aggregate from the Blue Lake Gravel Bar along the Mad River. The proposed extraction plan would be determined annually through multiagency consultation, review, and approval. Wahlund Construction, Inc. proposes extraction of up to 50,000 cubic yards per year. Aggregate extraction would be performed consistent with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Letter of Permission and the Biological Assessment/Biological Opinion. This includes minimization measures and monitoring. Access to the extraction area would be from permanent or temporary access roads and temporary bridge crossings. Stockpiles would be removed prior to October 15th. | June 10, 2026 to July 1, 2026 | Amanda Piscitelli amanda.piscitelli@waterboards.ca.gov (707) 445-6126 |
| Weaver Creek Habitat Restoration Project | 1B26078WNTR | Trinity | 40.72278° N, 122.93836° W | The Project proposes to create new floodplain areas and instream habitat along the upper section of Weaver Creek immediately below the confluence of East and West Weaver Creeks. The Project’s goals are to significantly increase the amount of instream habitat for coho salmon that are listed as federally and state threatened; improve riparian habitat while controlling the spread of invasive plant species; and establish a topographically complex baseflow channel that continues to provide pool habitat over the low-flow summer period. Restoration features include approximately 4.6 acres of floodplain, 1.39 acres of overflow channel (including high flow swales), 0.94 acre of constructed riffle, 0.37 acre of channel fill, and 0.35 acre of low flow channel. A grade control structure of approximately 0.06 acres is also proposed at the downstream end of the project to help protect the existing water and sewer infrastructure – and therefore protect against potential sewer leakage into Weaver Ck – by encouraging deposition and avoid future incision. Invasive vegetation, which currently dominates many areas of the site, would be removed in all proposed disturbance areas. Revegetation efforts would focus on native and non-invasive species. | June 8 through June 28, 2026 | Jake Shannon, Jake.Shannon@Waterboards.ca.gov (707) 576-2673 |
| Seawood Cape Preserve Campground and Public Access Project | 1B26074WNHU | Humboldt | 41.10165° N, 124.1573° W | The Seawood Cape Preserve Campground and Public Access Project includes two watercourse/wetland trail crossing upgrades. Crossing 1: A small drainage/wetland swale crosses under the Campground Loop Trail, which is currently an old logging road, via a legacy culvert that would be removed and replaced with a small bridge as a restoration action to restore a natural watercourse. Road fill would be removed and wetland vegetation replanted and allowed to colonize in the restored natural crossing under the new bridge. The construction of the trail and crossings would not impact any wetlands and has been routed to avoid wetlands. Based on the restoration of the culverted road crossing, there would be a net reduction of fill material within jurisdictional waters. Once the legacy fill is removed, the restored area would be revegetated with appropriate native wetland species. Crossing 2: The same drainage also crosses the downslope Fir Forest Trail and would be accommodated by a small bridge to avoid permanent impacts to the drainage/wetland swale. The new bridge would be approximately 16 feet long by 8 feet wide. The disturbed area would be revegetated with appropriate native wetland species. Erosion control would be applied during and post-construction. | June 8 through June 28, 2026 | Jake Shannon, Jake.Shannon@Waterboards.ca.gov (707) 576-2673 |
| Eel River HDD Rio Dell Feeder Project | 1B25151WNHU | Humboldt | 40.507792 °N, 124.112369°W | The purpose of this Project is to increase the grid capacity for the City of Rio Dell. This Project would install 1,400 feet of a new 12KV line under the Eel River in Rio Dell using horizontal directional drilling (HDD) methods. Two 16 inch high-density polyethylene pipes would be drilled under the Eel River. Two 11 foot by 11 foot bell holes would be excavated, one at each end of the planned underground route. The excavated holes would be outside of the riverbank and waters of the state. Cover depth of the HDD path is anticipated to be a minimum of 50 feet beneath the river channel, reducing the likelihood of effects on the Eel River. No temporary or permanent impacts are anticipated. The proposed start date is July 2026. | June 1, 2026 to June 21, 2026 | Shannon Strong |
| VanAuken Creek Habitat Enhancement Project | 1B26065WNHU | Humboldt | 40.051894° N, 123.956686° W | This Project seeks to improve habitat for coho salmon and steelhead trout in Vanauken Creek, an important salmon bearing tributary in the Mattole River headwaters, by addressing the limiting factors of low summer stream flows, poor summer rearing habitat, and lack of winter refuge habitat. The primary objectives of the Project are instream and floodplain habitat enhancement, streamflow enhancement, and forest thinning and riparian habitat enhancement. The Project will enhance instream and floodplain habitat by raising the stream bed to engage with the floodplain, increasing pool depth, and adding instream habitat complexity through wood placement. The large wood structures will be non-engineered and are designed to enhance summer and winter habitat, reduce channel incision, and improve sorting and retention of gravel. Log and boulder weirs are designed to improve floodplain connectivity and increase habitat complexity. Subsurface clay barriers will be constructed in tandem with log weirs and are intended to slow the flow of shallow groundwater and hyporheic flow. Strategic grading will help to reduce channel incision and lower adjacent floodplain elevations. Log weirs with sub-surface clay barriers will encourage higher water table and increased channel complexity. Enhancement of the riparian ecosystem is expected, with increased diversity and abundance of riparian plants, in response to the higher water table. The project is designed to restore natural processes over the long-term, promoting the formation of a complex meandering stream and wetlands. The full project description is available upon request. | May 22 through June 11, 2026 | Jake Shannon, Jake.Shannon@Waterboards.ca.gov (707) 576-2673 |
| McKinney Post-Fire Restoration Project at McConnell Bar and Humbug Creek | TBD | Siskiyou | 41.841339° N, 122.672315° W | This project proposes in-stream and floodplain habitat enhancements. Restoration activities will be implemented to provide habitat complexity, provide refuge for fish during high flows, improve hydrologic and hydraulic diversity and complexity, and enhance sediment sorting processes that are critical for all life stages of fish and other aquatic species in the Klamath River system. Proposed activities include: Reconnect the floodplain to increase viable juvenile rearing habitat; Remove McKinney Fire floods-caused debris, fine sediments and refuse in the Humbug Creek confluence area and on the McConnell Bar elevated floodplain where materials from the fire were deposited; Realign the Humbug Creek channel from below the bridge to the confluence, and install habitat features in the creek; Excavate to reconnect historic channels in the greater floodplain of the Klamath River to enhance sinuosity and channel length, and to promote habitat complexity (construct meander; construct 50/50 split flow channel; open disconnected side channel, and create pool (backwater alcove)); Remove an upstream embankment (likely a historical mining remnant) to eliminate an unnatural constriction and lessen the velocity; Divert flows temporarily from the work areas to prevent excess turbidity; Install features such as gravel, and large wood (structured log jams) to improve spawning and rearing conditions; and Remove invasive plant species during construction and salvage onsite native vegetation (such as willow bundles) to be replanted post-construction along with additional native plant seeds and other propagules to both stabilize the site and enhance riparian areas. | May 22 through June 11, 2026 | Jake Shannon, Jake.Shannon@Waterboards.ca.gov (707) 576-2673 |
| Crescent City Harbor District – Citizens Dock and Seawall Replacement Project | 1A26066WNDN | Del Norte | 41.4522 ° N, -124.1059 ° W | The Project purpose is to replace the aging and damaged Citizens dock and seawall in Crescent City Harbor. The existing 33,900 square feet Citizens dock and 804 13-inch-diameter creosote-treated timber piles will be removed. Two new piers (totaling 33,900 square feet) will be constructed. Nine existing structures located on the dock (shacks, ice storage, fuel station, NOAA tidal gage, and mechanical hoists) and all utilities will be incorporated into the new pier decking. A new 360 foot long steel sheet pile bulkhead (seawall) will be installed approximately 10 feet waterward of the existing deteriorated steel sheet pile seawall. The Project will permanently impact 3,800 square feet (0.09 acres) of waters of the state (benthic habitat) to constructed the new seawall. The Project will temporarily disturb approximately 740 square feet (0.20 acres) of waters of the state to remove the existing dock and construct the new piers. To provide compensatory mitigation for permanent impacts of the Project, additional benthic and water column habitat will be created by increasing the size of an existing small boat harbor by 3,800 square feet. In addition, 804 13-inch-diameter creosote-treated piles (394 net piles after installation of 410 new piles) will be removed, which will provide benefits to existing benthic habitat and water column habitat by reducing toxicity potential. |
May 21, 2026 through June 10, 2026 | Maggie Teicher Margarete.Teicher@waterboards.ca.gov 707-576-2501 |
