Permitting

For our entire history we have helped clients work with the regulatory agencies to successfully acquire approvals for their projects. From these decades of experience and our reputation for applying sound science, we have earned credibility among the agencies, and can anticipate and address their concerns. To do so, we integrate with project planning teams to develop a permitting strategy that considers the proposed project improvements, construction methods, potential permitting avenues, costs, and timelines. We often collaborate with project engineers to redesign plans to minimize impacts on biological resources and thereby advance the permitting process.

Our services include assembling permit applications, facilitating permit processing, and preparing the technical studies commonly required to support permits. Some of this supporting information is developed through impact assessments conducted for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) or National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Other studies may include:

• wetland delineations,
• functions and values assessments,
• biological assessments,
• wetland and riparian mitigation and monitoring plans,
• Clean Water Act Section 404(B)(1) alternatives analyses,
• Essential Fish Habitat and fish passage assessments,
• resource management plans, and
• mitigation plans and specifications.

Our permitted projects have varied widely, from small infrastructure improvements involving a few hundred square feet of agency jurisdiction, to highway improvement projects that extend for dozens of miles, to large-scale restoration projects involving thousands of acres. Whatever the project type or size, we can expertly navigate the permitting process to support project delivery.

We regularly work on the following permits:

• Clean Water Act Section 404 Nationwide and Individual Permits, and Rivers and Harbors Act Section 10 permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• Clean Water Act Section 401 certifications and Waste Discharge Requirements from the State Water Resources Control Board and Regional Water Quality Control Boards
• Streambed Alteration Agreements, California Endangered Species Act consistency Determinations, and California Fish and Game Code Section 2081 Incidental Take Permits from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Administrative and major permits, and consistency determinations, from the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission
• Coastal development permits from the California Coastal Commission or Approved Local Government
• Federal Endangered Species Act Section 7 and Section 10 consultations with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service
• Multiagency Joint Aquatic Resources Permit Applications
• Permits from local water and flood control districts