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 3 PM 48.65, 48.90, & 51.81 Montague CAPM Project (02-0J540) |
1B25179WNHU | Siskiyou | PM R48.65 PM R48.90 PM 51.81 |
The Project involves Road repair and improvements on State Route 3 in Montegue. Project activities include replacement of 2 existing culverts at Post Miles (PM) 48.65 and 51.81 as well as repairs at the inlets and outlets. Repair work includes activities within the culvert at PM 48.90. The project will cause 663 linear feet (2018 sq ft) of temporary impacts to streams and 10 linear feet (21 sq ft) of permanent impacts to streams (waters of the state and US). To offset the new permanent impacts Caltrans proposes to upsize approximately 67.5 liear feet of culvert by 1-foot. Diversions may be used to seperate the work area from flowing water upon approval of diversion plans by the Regional Water Board. To address new and reworked impervious surfaces will install an appropriately sized treatment BMP within the Project area. The Project is proposed to be conducted between April and October 2027. | January 29, 2026 to February 18, 2026 | Gil Falcone gil.falcone@waterboards.ca.gov 707-576-2830 |
| Mendocino Coast Mitigation Bank Restoration Project | 1B24078WNME | Mendocino | 38.94885°N, 123.67685°W | The project is located on two parcels. The Garcia River Parcel is located approximately 4 miles upstream of the mouth of the Garcia River. The Crispin Parcel is located north of Brush Creek and east of Highway 1 in Manchester in Mendocino County. The purpose of the project is to use process-based design to restore degraded floodplain, stream, wetland, and riparian habitat along the Garcia River. At the Crispin bank parcel, project activities include restoring degraded riparian and coastal meadow and scrub habitat. By implementing this work and getting a Bank Enabling Instrument (BEI) approved through the US Army Corps and Mitigation Bank Interagency Review Team review and approval process, the applicant, also known as the Bank Sponsor, proposes to establish a mitigation bank where the acreage of restoration and preservation may be sold as compensatory mitigation to compensate for impacts to wetlands and other waters by Caltrans and other third parties in the bank’s service area. Certification through the Statewide Restoration General Order (SRGO) authorizes ground disturbing restoration activities and does not authorize or establish the mitigation bank. The project will involve restoration of off-channel/side-channel habitat, floodplain restoration, removal of non-native invasive species and revegetation with native plants, establishment, restoration, and enhancement of freshwater wetlands, stream and riparian habitat, and upslope watershed sites. Grading, revegetation, livestock exclusion, planting, seeding, weeding, woody material mounds, removal or improvement of human infrastructure, lowering streambanks, and improving floodplain connectivity and hydraulic diversity will be employed to achieve restoration. The project size on the Garcia River Parcel is 149.2 acres including access, staging, and work areas. Temporary aquatic impacts total 9.64 acres and permanent aquatic impacts total 0.06 acre. The total aquatic riparian resource established, enhanced, or restored is 59.6 acres. Waters of the state would not be impacted by restoration work implemented on the Crispin Parcel. This ground disturbing restoration project meets the eligibility criteria of order WQ 2022-0048-DWQ (SRGO) and as proposed will qualify for coverage under the Programmatic EIR for projects authorized by the SRGO. | January 28, 2026 to February 17, 2026 | Kaete King kaete.king@waterboards.ca.gov 707-576-2848 |
| Chadd and Mowry Creeks Fish Passage Project | TBD | Humboldt | 40.411781, -123.958382; 40.292974, -123.898707 | The project proposes to construct fish passable structures using a stream simulation approach to replace corrugated steel pipe and reinforced concrete box culverts at Chadd Creek and Mowry Creek, respectively. The work provided in this project would also help decrease the risk of loss of roadway due to erosion or embankment failures in the roadway prism. | January 13 through February 2, 2026 | Jake Shannon Jacob.Shannon@waterboards.ca.gov |
