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
Monte Rio Community Beach
Seasonal Maintenance Project
1B05075WNSO Sonoma 38.466558 °N, 123.00968 °W The purpose of this Project is to prepare the beach for the Summer recreation season by excavating parking lot material for installation of a mobile concession stand and temporary placement of a boardwalk on the river floodplain. At the end of the summer season work will include removing the concession stand and boardwalk and restoring the site to its previous condition. The work consists of beach preparation work from May 1 to June 15, and beach winterization work from September 1 to October 30. The Project will temporarily impact 0.04 acres and 130 linear feet of river channel. March 25, 2024 through April 16, 2024 Emma Tracy,
Emma.Tracy@Waterboards.ca.gov
707-576-2834
California Department of Transportation
CDOT Highway 36 PM 3.6-6 Carlotta Shoulder Widening Project (01-0J890)
1B24021WNHU Humboldt

PM 3.6:
40.543181°N,
124.077609°W

PM 6.0:
40.533776°N,
124.045482°W

The purpose of the Project is to reduce the frequency and severity of collisions on State Route (SR) 36 from PM 3.6 to 6.0 in Humboldt County and improve fish and wildlife passage, and pedestrian and cyclist access. The Project will widen shoulders, extend passing lanes, replace guardrails, upgrade storm drainage culverts, replace a fish barrier culvert with a single span bridge across Ward Creek, and remove a defunct bridge. Permanent impacts due to the new bridge and tree removal amount to approximately 0.0010 acre to wetlands, 0.0018 acre (2 LF) to streams, and 0.3763 acre to riparian areas. Temporary impacts to streams due to dewatering and stream restoration are estimated to be 582 LF (0.2340 acre). Bioswales (5) for stormwater treatment will be installed onsite due to increased/replaced pavement area. Project mitigation will create new riparian habitat, and restore and enhance riparian areas impacted by temporal loss including 5-years of monitoring. Wetland mitigation will be offsite through the fen parcel agreement MOU. Construction is planned over approximately 2 years from 2025 to 2026. March 25, 2024 through April 14, 2024 Susan Stewart
Susan.Stewart@waterboards.ca.gov
707-576-2657
Johnson's Beach Resort Seasonal Beach Grooming & Maintenance 1B11090WNSO Sonoma 38.49999°N, 122.9932°W The purpose of this Project is to prepare the beach for the Summer season by grading gravel at the beach and installing a consession stand and boardwalk, and then removing the concession stand and boardwalk at the end of the Summer season. The work consists of beach preparation work from May 1 to June 15, and beach winterization work from October 1 to October 15. The Project will temporarily impact 0.16 acres and 284 linear feet of river channel. March 13, 2024 through April 3, 2024 Paul Nelson
707-570-3767 paul.nelson@waterboards.ca.gov
Mad River Slough Shellfish Nursery Project 1B23162WNHU Humboldt 40.899578°N, 124.136931°W This Project would restart a shellfish nursery that was previously operated at the project site. The project would use existing upwelling tanks and a new 20-foot by 24-foot floating upwelling system (FLUPSY) and a 14-foot by 16- foot water intake raft attached to existing anchors in Mad River Slough. Slough water would be sent through pipes to an existing upland larvae setting facility and upwelling tanks. The water would then be discharged into an existing ditch which is connected to an estuarine wetland and to the Mad River Slough by a culvert with a tide gate. Discharge from the proposed facility would maintain estuarine conditions within the ditch, wetland, and slough. Compensatory mitigation is not required because this project does not propose to dredge, excavate, or fill any waters. The proposed start date is April 1, 2024 and the nursery would be operated 5 years or more with appropriate permitting requirements. March 5, 2024 through March 25, 2024 Shannon Strong
shannon.strong@waterboards.ca.gov
707-576-2499
Yreka Creek Flood Hazard Reduction Lennox Reach Project 1A23075WNSI Siskiyou 41.737506°, -122.631033°

The Project consists of construction of an approximately 0.26-mile side channel to Yreka Creek for the purpose of reducing flood risk through a bioengineering approach and creating habitat for salmonids. The site would be accessed from Lennox Road to the south. The side channel would be excavated approximately 10 to 15 feet below existing ground level so that the elevation of the side channel bed would be located just above the ordinary high water mark (OHWM) of Yreka Creek to reduce the potential for fish stranding.

The side channel would include constructed riffle and pool complexes. An existing culvert that captures runoff from Interstate 5 and discharges water directly into Yreka Creek would be shortened and a sediment trap would be constructed at the outlet. During excavation of the floodplain, existing riparian vegetation would be avoided to the extent feasible. The excavated floodplain would be planted with native riparian vegetation after construction is completed.

March 4, 2024 to March 25, 2024 Amanda Piscitelli,
amanda.piscitelli@waterboards.ca.gov
(707) 445-6126