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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meadowcreek Townhomes | 1B22058WNSO | Sonoma | 38.403286°N, 122.732711°W | Project is a residential townhouse development to construct 62 townhouses and associated improvements on an approximately 4.78-acre project site. The project will permanently fill 0.31 acre of wetlands, for which 0.35 acre of wetland mitigation bank credits have been purchased as compensatory mitigation. | November 14, 2025 to December 4, 2025 | Kaete King kaete.king@waterboards.ca.gov 707-576-2848 |
| Eagle Rock. Inc – LaGrange Mine Corrective Action Plans Project | 1A25149WNTR | Trinity | Crossing 1: 40.7320667°, -123.0196055° Crossing 2: 40.7324917°, -123.0182111° Crossing 3: 40.7320667°, -123.0196055° Crossing 3: 40.7331278°, -123.0171361° Crossing 4: 40.7168167°, -123.0151083° Crossing 5: 40.7314306°, -123.0260611° Crossing 6: 40.7305333°, -123.0301166° Crossing 7: 40.7273361°, -123.0372333° Pond: 40.7268944°, -123.0363277° |
The purpose of the proposed project is to implement corrective actions to comply with Cleanup and ZAbatement and Water Code Section 13267 Investigative Order No. R1-2023-0036 and Notice of Violation of Fish and Game Code Sections 102 and 5650. The goal of the proposed project is to repair stability of unauthorized tributary crossings, banks and sediment retention ponds as a result of the unauthorized activity. Proposed actions include removal of concrete debris, invasive species, undersized culverts, sediment impoundments and earthen berms. Proposed actions address the replacement of undersized culverts and the placement of rock slope protection for dissipation at sloped banks and spillways. | November 10, 2025 to December 1, 2025 | Amanda Piscitelli, amanda.piscitelli@waterboards.ca.gov (707) 445-6126 |
| Hartsook Creek Fish Passage Project | 1B25159WNHU | Humboldt | 40.01032, -123.79071 | This Project proposes to remove a barrier to fish passage on Hartsook Creek by replacing a deteriorated drainage system with signs of damage with a bridge at post mile (PM) 0.88, along US 101 in Humboldt County. The method of restoring this drainage system is to remove the existing box culvert and replace it with a concrete bridge structure. Engineered Streambed material will also be added to the widened stream channel. | November 7 through November 28, 2025 | Jake Shannon Jacob.Shannon@waterboards.ca.gov |
| California Department of Transportation CDOT Highway 299 PM 49-72 Poker Bar to Buckhorn Culverts (02-4H750) |
1A25153WNTR | Trinity | PM 49.10 PM 49.12 PM 49.20 PM 53.31 PM 53.35 PM 53.42 PM 54.05 PM 64.50 PM 66.63 PM 67.70 PM 68.48 PM 71.76 |
The Project will restore or replace 72 culverts, including 12 jurisdictional culverts along 23 miles of SR 299 in Trinity County. Construction will include cut and cover methods, installation of cement liners, and placement of rock slope protection (RSP). A temporary stream diversion plan and water quality monitoring plan will be required. Approximate temporary impacts include 0.014 acres of wetlands, 0.079 acre to ponds, 922.5 linear feet (LF) to streams, and 0.098 acres to riparian areas including removal of approximately 49 riparian trees. Approximate permanent impacts include 0.0001 acres to riparian areas, 0.0004 acre to ponds, and 30 LF to streams. Offsets include upsizing 95 LF of culvert and daylighting 8 LF of streams. Mitigation includes planting 0.1198 acres native riparian vegetation and re-establishment of a total of 0.0139-acre temporarily impacted seasonal 3-parameter wetlands. Construction is planned over two years from approximately May 15, 2026, to October 30, 2027. Drainage work would occur during the dry season. | November 6, 2025 through November 26, 2025 | Susan Stewart Susan.Stewart@waterboards.ca.gov 707-576-2657 |
| Elk River Estuary (Planning Area 1) Restoration Project | TBD | Humboldt | 40.747745, -124.189293 | The Elk River Estuary Restoration Project is one phase of a watershed-scale effort to restore beneficial uses of water; improve water quality conditions; reduce nuisance flooding; rehabilitate habitat for focal fish species, including Coho Salmon, Chinook Salmon, steelhead, Coastal Cutthroat Trout, Tidewater Goby, and Longfin Smelt; expand riparian habitat; and improve overall ecosystem health in the Elk River. The Project restoration scope includes the following elements: remove and/or upgrade drainage infrastructure; reduce or remove levees; breach an abandoned railroad grade; restore tidal sloughs and tidal creek channels and their connectivity to mainstem channels; create backwater features for seasonal waterfowl and winter salmonid rearing habitat (primarily for federally listed Coho Salmon); manage invasive vegetation; expand native plant communities; and recontour portions of the floodplain to guide winter flood-flows across the floodplain and back into the slough channel network toward suitable aquatic habitat. | November 5 through November 25, 2025 | Jake Shannon Jacob.Shannon@waterboards.ca.gov |
| California Department of Transportation CDOT Highway 96 Somes Bar CAPM Repair Project (02-4H080) |
1A25144WNSI | Siskiyou | PM 1.29 41.393099°N, 123.496301°W PM 1.36 41.394159°N, 123.496440°W PM 3.46 41.422905°N, 123.500956°W PM 9.79 41.495699°N, 123.520739°W PM 10.40 41.503514°N, 123.523861°W PM 10.56 41.505898°N, 123.523493°W PM 10.60 41.506527°N, 123.523523°W PM 13.67 41.547238°N, 123.525266°W PM 13.77 41.548862°N, 123.524089°W PM 14.51 41.558293°N, 123.524311°W PM 14.74 41.561746°N, 123.523968°W PM 14.93 41.564217°N, 123.525043°W PM 14.99 41.564943°N, 123.525343°W PM 15.34 41.568477°N, 123.529902°W |
The Project will reduce maintenance and landslides by constructing a retaining wall to stabilize the slope near Junction Elementary School, restoring the roadway that has been disturbed by earth movement and replacing 13 jurisdiction culverts. The Project includes hot mix asphalt (HMA) overlay for 18.8 miles of State Route 96 in Siskiyou County near Somes Bar, and will install 10 biofiltration strips for Stormwater Treatment. Approximate temporary impacts will include 0.047 acres of wetlands, 0.273 acres to riparian areas, and 1,410 linear feet (LF) to streams. Approximate permanent impacts will include 0.016 acres to riparian areas, and 59 LF to streams. Upsizing 112 LF culvert and daylighting 4 LF of streams plus planting willow along 65 LF of stream bank will mitigate for permanent stream impacts. Temporary impacts will be restored with planting and hydroseeding with native species. Construction is planned over two years from approximately May 2026 through October 2027. Drainage work would occur during the dry season. | November 3, 2025 through November 24, 2025 | Susan Stewart Susan.Stewart@waterboards.ca.gov 707-576-2657 |
