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 101 PM R9.5-10.8 LaFranchi Safety Project
(01-0L110)		 1B25166WNME MENDOCINO 38.987830°N,
122.992660°W
to
38.971247°N,
123.116622°W		 The Project will widen the northbound (NB) and southbound (SB) shoulders to 8-foot-wide, including an alignment change for the left turn/merge-lane at La Franchi Road intersection at PM 9.88. Two soldier pile walls will be constructed in the NB direction temporarily impacting approximately 0.0436-acre of wetland. An estimated 21-oak trees will be removed resulting in approximately 0.1656-acre of permanent riparian impacts. Temporary riparian impacts of approximately 0.0020-acre of will occur for construction access. Onsite restoration includes approximately 0.0436-acre of wetlands and 0.002-acre of riparian area. Riparian vegetation will be planted within 0.88-acre offsite at the Jacobs Parcel within the Willits Bypass area to mitigate for permanent riparian impacts. Installation of eight (8) vegetated biofiltration stips for stormwater treatment is proposed to offset increased impervious surfaces. Construction is estimated to occur over three seasons and approximately 290 working days from May of 2026 to fall of 2028. December 31, 2025 through January 20, 2026 Susan Stewart
Susan.Stewart@waterboards.ca.gov
707-576-2657
Greene and Sweetwater Habitat Enhancement Project 1B25170WNSO Sonoma 38.44903, -122.88999 The Greene and Sweetwater Habitat Enhancement Project will construct in-channel and off-channel habitat features to improve the quantity and quality of accessible habitat for salmonids. Project elements are designed to build on existing habitat with limited accessibility and prioritize connectivity of habitat features throughout varying flow levels. Specific project objectives are to: 1) Create side channels at varying elevations to connect a range of winter flows from Green Valley Creek to off-channel wetlands for salmonid utilization; providing refugia and rearing habitat for juvenile salmonids and hydrologically connected migration corridors for out-migrating salmonids; 2) Improve edge habitat and in-channel rearing and refuge habitat for juvenile salmonids over a range of winter flows by creating inset floodplains, alcoves and tree islands, and installing in-channel log structures to improve channel and hydrologic complexity; 3) Revegetate disturbed areas with a mix of herbaceous and woody native species to increase the dominance of native plant species and create diverse habitat for juvenile fish, freshwater shrimp and other native aquatic organisms, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals; 4) Maintain and/or improve habitat for California freshwater shrimp and other native aquatic organisms, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals by removing nonnative vegetation, planting native riparian and wetland species, and including small woody debris in log structures; and 5) Expand the extent of seasonal herbaceous wetland throughout the side channels and alcoves. December 10 through December 31, 2025 Jake Shannon Jacob.Shannon@waterboards.ca.gov