TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: The San Francisco District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has received a proposal to establish the South Honker Bay Mitigation Bank. If approved, this mitigation bank may be used to mitigate impacts from projects receiving Corps authorization under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act of 1972, as amended (CWA) (33 U.S.C. §1344 et seq.) and/or Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, as amended (33 U.S.C. §403 et seq.), pursuant to the requirements of the 2008 Corps-EPA Compensatory Mitigation Rule (33 CFR 332.8(d)). Additionally, the proposed mitigation bank may be utilized to offset unavoidable impacts to waters of the State that are regulated by the Regional Water Quality Control Board under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act or Section 13260 of the Porter-Cologne Act; stream alteration and state-listed endangered species impacts regulated by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife under Section 1602 of the California Fish and Game Code and California Endangered Species Act; and impacts to endangered species regulated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service under the federal Endangered Species Act. The purpose of this public notice is to solicit comments from the public regarding the proposed Mitigation Bank described below:
APPLICANT: Matt Brown, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), 3580 East California Ave., Bldg. B Fresno, CA 93725
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The approximately 256-acre Bank property (assessor’s parcel number 098-250-013) is located within tidal marsh areas along the southern shoreline of Honker Bay/Suisun Bay, in the City of Bay Point, Contra Costa County, California (38.0407 °N, -121.9552 °W). It is bordered on the north by the open bay, on the west by Bay Point Regional Shoreline and McAvoy Yacht Harbor, on the south by the Union Pacific Railroad and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, and on the east by the Shell Pond remediation site (Figures 1-4).
EXISTING CONDITIONS: Much of the Bank site consists of intact brackish tidal marsh habitat (totaling approximately 163 acres) that has been subject to minimal anthropogenic disturbance. The southwestern portion of the Bank portion contains the former Harris Yacht Harbor, which ceased operation in 2000. Excavated harbor channels and basins are still present (totaling approximately 41 acres), and bordering uplands in the southwestern corner contain remnant paved/graveled roads and lots, building foundation, and other infrastructure associated with the former harbor. A total of approximately 49 acres of previously disturbed upland areas extend along the southern edge of the Bank site (Figure 5).
The Bank site provides suitable estuarine habitat for several federally listed fish species including California Central Valley steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), Sacramento River winter-run and Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), delta smelt (Hypomesus Transpacificus), longfin smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys), and North American green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris), as well as critical habitat for steelhead, Delta smelt, and green sturgeon. Tidal marsh areas of the Bank site are known to support soft bird’s beak (Chloropyron molle molle) and are also within the range of two other listed tidal marsh species: the California Ridgway’s rail (Rallus obsoletus obsoletus) and salt marsh harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys raviventris). The closest recorded occurrences for these species are 1.7 miles west of the site and 1.3 mile east of the site, respectively.
PROPOSED BANK: PG&E proposes to establish new areas of tidal marsh habitat adjacent to existing marsh areas, with a focus on creating a gradual transition from low marsh to high marsh and transitional uplands, so that existing and newly established tidal marsh would be resilient to sea level rise. Work would focus on excavating existing disturbed upland areas to establish suitable tidal marsh elevations, and seeding/planting native vegetation to provide foraging, breeding, and refuge habitats for tidal marsh species and other native aquatic wildlife, particularly listed species. While focusing on the existing upland areas, some of the marsh restoration areas would extend down into the former harbor basins by placing fill to establish suitable tidal marsh elevations in areas that are currently subtidal. Upland areas bordering existing and planned wetlands would be enhanced with native vegetation and preserved to accommodate sea level rise and provide a buffer against surrounding land uses. Overall, the proposed Bank would establish approximately 35.5 acres of tidal wetlands and channels (Figure 6). Some of the created wetlands would be in areas of existing subtidal waters, so the total acreage of wetland creation credits generated for Section 404 and 401 mitigation would be adjusted downward accordingly and would likely be closer to 30 acres. The remaining acreage of wetland, transition zone, and upland buffer enhancement areas would be used to generate wetland enhancement credits. In addition, the Bank proposes to generate up to 35 acres of longfin smelt habitat creation credits, and up to 200 acres of wetland and/or habitat preservation credits for various aquatic and tidal marsh listed plant and animal species. Wetland credits and species habitat credits generated at the bank would be utilized as compensatory mitigation for select PG&E projects as well as being sold to non-sponsor entities.
Service Area: The proposed Service Area includes the boundaries of the legal Delta, plus several connected rivers on the east, and the San Pablo Bay (including the Petaluma River up to Penngrove and the Napa River up to Calistoga) and Suisun Bay (including Honker Bay, Grizzly Bay, and surrounding Suisun Marsh areas) on the west. The proposed service area includes portions of Sacramento, Solano, Contra Costa, Alameda, San Joaquin, Yolo, Napa, Sonoma, and Marin counties (Figure 7).
Mitigation Rule: The 2008 Mitigation Rule established a process and defined requirements for the establishment and management of mitigation banks, in-lieu fee agreements and permittee-responsible mitigation (33 CFR 332). In addition, the Mitigation Rule established a public review process and timeline for the development of mitigation banks and in-lieu fee agreements. This mitigation bank development process will include, but is not limited to, the following: 1) public review and comment on the Prospectus of a proposed bank, 2) agency coordination and review of the Prospectus and the Bank Enabling Instrument (BEI) by an Interagency Review Team (IRT) consisting of federal and state regulatory agencies, 3) development of a mitigation credit production approach and credit release schedule, 4) long-term site protection and management measures, and 5) financial assurances for effective long term management of a bank.
Mitigation Approval and Permitting Processes: Wetland mitigation requirements for a particular project are determined during the permitting process. A permit applicant may submit a compensatory mitigation proposal to the Corps that incudes purchasing credits from an established Mitigation Bank. The Mitigation Rule prioritizes the use of Mitigation Banks over other types of mitigation, as Bank credits are supported by restored or created wetlands that are in place prior to the permitting of a proposed project.
A Mitigation Bank contains wetlands, streams and/or other aquatic resources that have been restored, established, enhanced, or preserved. The Bank area is then available to compensate for future impacts to aquatic resources resulting from permitted activities. The value of a Bank is determined by quantifying the aquatic resource functions restored, established, enhanced, and/or preserved in terms of “credits.” If a permitted project is within the service area of an approved mitigation bank with available credits, and the Corps determines that the Bank’s credits would satisfy the project’s mitigation requirements, then the project proponent would contact the Bank sponsor to discuss mitigation options.
As part of the process of establishing and approving a Bank, the IRT typically determines the types and number of potential Bank credits that may be generated. Upon meeting either administrative milestones (e.g., BEI completion, funding of long-term management endowment) or performance-based milestones (e.g., 1-year, 3-year, 5-year conditional assessments), potential credits then become released credits and are available for sale. In addition to the final IRT approvals of the Bank Prospectus and BEI, the sponsor would also need to obtain the appropriate federal, state, and local permits required to implement the Bank restoration activities. The Bank sponsor would submit an application for Corps permit(s) should the proposed bank mitigation activities involve a discharge of dredge or fill material within waters of the U.S. or work or structures within navigable waters of the U.S. Prior to any permit authorization, the Corps would assess potential impacts to federally listed species, historic properties, and essential fish habitat, and complete any needed consultations under the Endangered Species Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, or other applicable laws.
ENDANGERED SPECIES: Although the Bank would be planned to benefit the listed species described above, initial development of the Bank would likely involve short term construction impacts to estuarine waters, tidal marsh, and associated species. If approved, the Bank development would require additional review and permitting by the Corps, pursuant to CWA Section 404 and RHA Section 10. Prior to permit issuance by the Corps, any potential impacts to listed species would be addressed through consultation with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and/or National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) pursuant to Section 7(a) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA) (16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.).
ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT: The proposed Bank area contains Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) which is protected by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 1996, as amended (16 U.S.C. § 1801 et seq.). As for ESA-listed species above, EFH would be addressed prior to Corps permit issuance though consultation with NMFS for potential impacts to EFH for various life stages of fish species managed under the Pacific Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP), the Coastal Pelagics FMP, and the Pacific Coast Salmon FMP
NAVIGATION: Based on the California State Plane coordinates provided by the applicant, the waterward edge of the proposed Bank site is approximately 2,200 feet away from southern edge of the Suisun Bay federal channel.
SECTION 408: if approved, development of the Bank would not require permission under Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 USC 408) because the activity, in whole or in part, would not alter, occupy, or use a Corps Civil Works project.
WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION: If approved, development of the Bank may require a Water Quality Certification from the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, pursuant to CWA Section 401.
NOTE: This public notice is being issued based on information furnished by the applicant. This information has not been verified or evaluated to ensure compliance with laws and regulation governing the regulatory program. The geographic extent of aquatic resources within the proposed project area that either are, or are presumed to be, within the Corps jurisdiction has been verified by Corps personnel.
COMMENTS: The Corps is soliciting comments from the public; Federal, state, and local agencies and officials; Indian tribes; and other interested parties in order to help inform the Corps and the IRT as to the scope and overall merits of the proposed mitigation bank, the proposed service area, the ecological suitability of the individual sites to achieve wetlands restoration, and to identify project aspects that should be addressed during the development of the bank. Comments would also be used to assess impacts on endangered species, historic properties, water quality, general environmental effects and other public interest factors, and in the preparation of an Environmental Assessment pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act.
The San Francisco District will receive written comments on the proposed work, as outlined above, until May 13, 2025. Comments should be submitted electronically via the Regulatory Request System (RRS) at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs or to Greg Brown gregory.g.brown@usace.army.mil. Alternatively, you may submit comments in writing to the Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District, Attention: Greg Brown 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, California, 94102. Please refer to the public notice number in your comments.