State Water Board Permit Will Accelerate Critical Habitat Work

Posted on September 6, 2022September 7, 2022 by manager

Last month, the State Water Resources Control Board adopted a General Order and Programmatic Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) that will help PCI and our partners streamline permitting and implementation for important habitat restoration projects.

*Salmonid habitat restoration projects similar to PCI’s work for the SF Zen Center, shown here, will be easier to implement with the new General Order.*

The State Water Board adopted the General Order and certified the PEIR for Restoration Projects Statewide on August 16.

Previously, the State Water Board issued a general Water Quality Certification for small habitat restoration projects. Projects could only qualify if they did not exceed five acres or a cumulative total of 500 linear feet of stream bank or coastline. Larger restoration projects often had to obtain individual water quality certifications and/or waste discharge requirements, and securing individual authorization was time-consuming and increased the cost of regulatory compliance.

The adoption of the new General Order and accompanying PEIR was eagerly anticipated according to PCI Principal Environmental Planner/Project Manager Carrie Lukacic.

“The General Order not only makes it easier and less cumbersome to secure a permit from the Regional Water Board, it may provide CEQA compliance for restoration projects,” she says. “We are excited to work with our local folks at the Regional Water Board and look forward to introducing the use of available permitting efficiencies to others not as familiar with the use of the tools available for permitting restoration activities. We now have a method to permit both large- and small-scale restoration, which should help increase the pace and scale of critical habitat improvement needs.”

The General Order will provide coverage for the following kinds of restoration projects:
-Improvements to Stream Crossings and Fish Passage
-Removal of Small Dams, Tide Gates, Flood Gates, and Legacy Structures
-Bioengineered Bank Stabilization
-Restoration and Enhancement of Off-Channel and Side-Channel Habitat
-Water Conservation Projects
-Floodplain Restoration
-Removal or Remediation of Pilings and Other In-Water Structures
-Removal of Nonnative Terrestrial and Aquatic Invasive Species and Revegetation with Native Plants
-Establishment, Restoration, and Enhancement of Tidal, Subtidal, and Freshwater Wetlands
-Establishment, Restoration, and Enhancement of Stream and Riparian Habitat
-Upslope Watershed Sites

*A bird’s-eye view of the habitat-enhancement design for the SF Zen Center.*

Posted in CEQA Toolbox, Fish passage, News, Salmonid habitat, Stream restoration, Uncategorized

Success! Coho Spawning Upstream of Mill Creek Fish Passage Project

Posted on February 21, 2017 by manager

In early December, 2016, coho salmon were seen spawning upstream of the recently completed dam removal project that PCI worked on in Mill Creek near Healdsburg. Staff from the Sonoma County Water Agency and the UC Cooperative Extension/CA Sea Grant’s Coho Monitoring Program documented the fish. A PCI employee also observed a female coho building a redd (nest) immediately upstream of the site while closely attended by two male coho.

The project was completed in October, 2016, by PCI working in partnership with Trout Unlimited, NOAA, CDFW, and neighboring landowners. It restores access to 11.2 miles of prime coho and steelhead habitat upstream of the removed flashboard dam. More detailed information about the project and Mill Creek’s importance as coho habitat can be found in the “Mill Creek fish passage featured in Climate.gov” post below and at: https://caseagrant.ucsd.edu/project/coho-salmon-monitoring/habitat-enhancement-monitoring.

As of January 4th, 2017, the Coho Monitoring Program estimated that at least 19 adult coho had made it past the remediated dam site. Program staff have also observed eight coho redds in the upper reaches of Mill Creek, which is more than have been seen in the past eleven years combined! This is a great success in the continued efforts towards coho recovery in the Russian River.
See link for a great video of coho spawning upstream of the Mill Creek dam remediation site: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCZP-tZ18Qc

Coho salmon female and jack next to redd, upstream of Mill Creek Dam Fish Passage Project on 12/3/16. A jack is a male salmon that matures and returns one year earlier than other adult salmon to carry out spawning and is thus smaller than other adults. Photo courtesy of The Coho Monitoring Program.

Posted in Fish passage, News

Mill Creek fish passage project featured on Climate.gov

Posted on November 15, 2016February 21, 2017 by manager

NOAA’s website for “science and information for a climate-smart nation” featured the Mill Creek fish passage project we’ve been working hard on! Read more here:

https://www.climate.gov/news-features/features/dam-bypass-spells-victory-russian-river-salmon

Climate.gov also provides lots of other interesting information, from stories about climate adaptation to tons of maps and datasets to resources for teaching about climate.

Posted in Fish passage, News

Mill Creek fish passage project underway

Posted on September 23, 2016September 23, 2016 by manager

PCI has been hard at work this summer on the Mill Creek fish passage project. Working with Trout Unlimited, we are restoring access for coho and steelhead to 11 miles of high quality upstream habitat.

PCI at work

New side channel

PCIers on the Mill Creek site

Posted in Fish passage, News, Uncategorized