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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fulton Road Sewer Main Improvements | 1B24100WNSO | Sonoma | 38.441969°N, 122.769925°W | The City of Santa Rosa will address approximately 300 feet of failing sewer pipe that was first installed in 1969 under Santa Rosa Creek just west of the Fulton Road Bridge. The pipe serves 60 homes and the pipe liner has deformed and caused the sewer to become partially obstructed. The project involves opening a trench through Santa Rosa Creek and placing a new pipe just west of the failing pipe. An approximately 10-foot wide trench would be excavated through the banks and streambed. Depths would vary from about 25 feet at the top of bank to between 2 and 3 feet below the existing stream bottom. To provide protection of the replacement sewer main, it will be installed within a PVC casing and the void between the sewer main and casing will be grouted. This method will entirely separate the grouting material from water. The trench will then be backfilled and compacted to restore the surface to existing grade.Rip rap will be placed up to and on top of the concrete encasement and native streambed material removed during excavation would be used to backfill on top of the rip rap to restore the channel bed. Temporary impacts include 0.024 acre for access and trench work, and 0.008 acre for the cofferdam. Permanent impacts total 0.057 acre of replacement rip rap. Permanent and temporary loss of streambank and riparian habitat will be mitigated off site at a 3:1 ratio at Peterson Park on Forestview Creek. Due to stream maintenance activities, on site mitigation is not feasible. | May 22, 2025 to June 11, 2025 | Kaete King kaete.king@waterboards.ca.gov 707-576-2848 |
| Drake Gravel Bar Extraction Project | 1B24085WNHU | Humboldt | 40.602828°, -124.178680° | The project would permit extraction and stockpiling of aggregate from the Drake Gravel Bar along the lower Eel River. The proposed extraction plan would be determined annually through multiagency consultation, review, and approval. Mercer-Fraser Company proposes extraction of up to 250,000 cubic yards per year. Aggregate extraction would be performed consistent with the 2015 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Letter of Permission. This includes minimization measures and monitoring. Access to the extraction area would be from the Sandy Prairie gravel bar via temporary access roads and temporary bridge crossings. Stockpiles would be removed prior to October 1st. | May 21, 2025 to June 11, 2025 | Amanda Piscitelli, amanda.piscitelli@waterboards.ca.gov (707) 445-6126 |
| Shasta River Habitat Improvement Project: Phase 1 Implementation | TBD | Siskiyou | 41.659902, -122.497866 | The purpose of this Project is to promote conservation, habitat enhancement, and the recovery of coho salmon within the Shasta River, including Big Springs Creek, Hole in the Ground Creek, and Parks Creek. The Project’s restoration elements include enhancing in-stream and off-channel habitats, enlarging spring alcoves, reconnecting oxbows, and improving floodplain connectivity to provide velocity refuge and increase habitat diversity. This will be achieved through strategic grading to improve connectivity, large wood and boulder in-stream habitat structures, beaver dam analogs (BDAs), and riparian plantings. Please contact our staff for a more detailed project description. | May 6 through May 27, 2025 | Jake Shannon Jacob.Shannon@waterboards.ca.gov |
| Trinity River Restoration Program – Channel Rehabilitation & Sediment Management | R1-2025-XXXX | Trinity | Approximately 40.72437° N, 122.80234° W (upstream extent); 40.76993° N, 123.12706° W (downstream extent) | The North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Water Board) is proposing to continue to regulate the Bureau of Reclamation, Trinity River Restoration Program – Channel Rehabilitation and Sediment Management (Project) pursuant to Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (33 USC 1341) and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act. On May 20, 2010, the Regional Water Board issued General Water Quality Certification R1-2010-0028 for the proposed activities, and continued regulatory coverage on May 20, 2015, and June 8, 2020, by issuing General Water Quality Certifications R1‐2015‐0028 and R1-2020-0025, respectively, for the same activities. The Regional Water Board’s file for past permitted activities contain additional project information and are available for public review by contacting Jake Shannon at Jacob.Shannon@waterboards.ca.gov or at (707) 576-2673. A virtual public workshop is scheduled for Thursday, April 10, 2025, at 5:00pm. The log-in information is: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_NzIyNTE5MTgtMjZlNy00NDM4LWEyMWUtODY4NjZjOTU5NTA2%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22fe186a25-7d49-41e6-9941-05d2281d36c1%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%2278343b7b-6cb1-4d92-b991-479f84c6a506%22%7d or Dial in by phone at +1 916-562-0861,,867751073#. Regional Water Board staff will consider all written comments on the proposed permitting action received during the 45-day comment period. The comment period begins on the date of issuance of this notice and ends at 5:00 p.m. on the last day. Written comments can be submitted electronically to Northcoast@waterboards.ca.gov. | April 10, 2025 through May 25, 2025 | Jake Shannon Jacob.Shannon@waterboards.ca.gov |
