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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sonoma Water Russian River Estuary Management Project | 1B26155WNSO | Sonoma | 38.4513182 °N, 123.129592°W | Sonoma Water requests a 9-year renewal of Water Quality Certification for the Russian River Estuary Management Project. The Project consists of periodic beach management activities to minimize flood risk following river mouth closures created by formation of a barrier beach and estuary water level management to enhance habitat for steelhead and other salmonids. Since 2014, Sonoma Water has implemented the Estuary project under Water Quality Certification WDID 1B10122WNSO. In 2025, Sonoma Water revised the project descritption in response to the 2025 Russian River Biological Opinion. Physical aspects of beach management have not changed. However, the management strategy has been revised to benefit all salmonid life stages instead of only juveniles. Mechanical breaches consisting of excavating a pilot channel across the barrier beach to reconnect the river and ocean would occur periodically following natural closures throughout the year, focusing on maximizing salmonid habitat while minimizing flood risk to low-lying properties adjacent to the estuary. Annual frequency of breaches and surface area is variable. Estimates, based on information collected over 12 years, total a tempoary impact area of 1.73 acres over the 9 year permit term. Physical, water quality, and biological monitoring will occur according to the EIR addendum and biological opinion requirements. An adaptive management and monitoring plan will be prepared. | October 26 to November 15, 2026 | Kaete King kaete.king@waterboards.ca.gov 707-576-2848 |
| United States Army Corps of Engineers - Humboldt Nearshore Placement Pilot Project | 1B26157WNHU | Humboldt | 40.81357°N, -124.20382°W | The primary purpose of the pilot Project is an effort to beneficially reuse Humboldt Bay dredged material to determine the feasibility of nearshore placement at the Humboldt Nearshore Placement Study Area (HNPSA) to address shoreline retreat and to provide data for regulatory decisions for future beneficial reuse projects. The proposed pilot Project includes transporting and placing up to 300,000 cubic yards (cy) of dredged material from the Humboldt Bar & Entrance Channel by the USACE (via hopper dredge Essayons ) at the HNPSA. There is a potential to place up to 1,000,000 cy of dredged material, which is contingent on the physical and biological monitoring data demonstrating that adverse environmental impacts remain below acceptable thresholds, which will be determined in coordination with the USACE and natural resource agencies overseeing the pilot Project. The HNPSA is divided into three placement zones. The USACE placed approximately 300,000 cy of dredged material in Zone 1 during the 2025 cycle, completed a similar 300,000 cy placement in Zone 2 during the 2026 cycle, and proposes a similar placement volume for Zone 3 in 2027. The Project will temporarily disturb approximately between 187 and 283 acres of waters of the state (Pacific Ocean) annually. |
October 20 to November 9, 2026 | Maggie Teicher Margarete.Teicher@waterboards.ca.gov 707-576-2501 |
| Sonoma County Regional Parks North Coast Upper Watershed Process | TBD | Sonoma | Multiple locations throughout Sonoma County | Sonoma County Regional Parks proposes to conduct upper watershed process-based restoration in 15 park sites within Sonoma County. Regional Parks has identified upper watershed restoration as an important land management strategy to enhance habitat, improve wildfire resilience, and restore watersheds to support increased biodiversity both in upper watersheds and downstream waterways. Process Based Restoration for Upper Watersheds is a restoration practice meant to primarily be installed by hand labor in small drainages and streams that often dry out in the summer and are meant to address and repair soil loss caused by historic and current land uses, such as roads, culverts, and mismanaged forests. | October 16 though November 5, 2026 | Jacob.Shannon@waterboards..ca.gov |
| 2027 Noyo Jetty Repair Project | 1B26145WNME | Mendocino | 39.4280° N / –123.8098° W | The purpose of the Project is to restore the North Jetty to the original design and function to avoid further deterioration and prevent possible failure. The jetty is approximately 1,000 feet long and consists of a trapezoidal concrete mass structure with armor stone protection. The proposed Project consists of relocating existing armor stone and installing new quarry armor stone along two segments of the North Jetty. Segment B: Approximately 2,300 cy of existing armor stone, removed from Segment A, will be installed along 300 feet. The armor stone will be moved using a tugboat, a barge-mounted excavator, cranes, and trucks. The staging area will be located immediately adjacent to the jetty in the existing parking lot. The Project will temporarily impact 0.44 acres (640 linear feet) of open water to restore the jetty. Turbidity is not expected to extend significantly beyond the construction activity. |
October 6 to October 27, 2026 | Maggie Teicher Margarete.Teicher@waterboards.ca.gov 707-576-2501 |
