WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters associated with the San Francisco Bay. The project area is located at the San Francisco Marina, adjacent to 1 Marina Green Drive. It is situated in Section 32, Township 1S, Range 5W, at approximately Latitude 37.80796437° N and Longitude -122.43697839° W, in the City and County of San Francisco, California.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project site, particularly the East Harbor facilities built in the 1960s, is in poor condition. This includes degraded timber docks treated with creosote, obsolete utilities, and a deteriorated shoreline and breakwater. Significant sediment accumulation has limited navigability. The area contains sediments contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from a former Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) operation.
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Remediation and Recreation.
Overall: To enhance the quality and safety of the San Francisco Marina and surrounding parkland through environmental remediation and infrastructure improvements, bringing the facilities up to modern standards to better serve the community.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant requests authorization for the San Francisco Marina Improvement and Remediation Project. The work includes:
Remediation: Dredging of approximately 8.7 acres of contaminated sediment, installation of a 7.7-acre sediment cap, and installation of a permeable reactive barrier (PRB) to address contamination.
Renovation: Demolition of existing East Harbor infrastructure, reconstruction of 1,700 linear feet of shoreline, replacement of marina berths, extension and repair of breakwaters, replacement of the fuel dock and improvements to navigation and public access.
AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION: The applicant proposes to implement several Avoidance and Minimization Measures (AMMs), including the use of turbidity curtains to contain sediment during in-water work, adherence to specific work windows to protect sensitive species, implementation of a water quality monitoring plan, and use of sound attenuation methods during certain pile driving.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The project is designed to be self-mitigating. The applicant asserts that the long-term ecological benefits—including the removal and isolation of chemical contaminants, a net reduction in overwater structures, and the creation of enhanced shoreline habitat—offset the unavoidable impacts to the aquatic environment. Therefore, the applicant has not offered a separate compensatory mitigation plan.
CULTURAL RESOURCES: The Corps is evaluating the undertaking for effects to historic properties as required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. This public notice serves to inform the public of the proposed undertaking and invites comments including those from local, State, and Federal government Agencies with respect to historic resources. Our final determination relative to historic resource impacts may be subject to additional coordination with the State Historic Preservation Officer, federally recognized tribes and other interested parties.
ENDANGERED SPECIES: The Corps has made a preliminary determination that the proposed project may affect, and is likely to adversely affect, green sturgeon and longfin smelt. The project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect, Chinook salmon, steelhead, and their designated critical habitats. Pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, consultation will be conducted with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).
ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT: Pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 1996, the Corps reviewed the project area, examined information provided by the applicant, and consulted available species information. The Corps intends to initiate Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) consultation separately from this public notice. A separate EFH consultation package will be sent to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The Corps will not make a permit decision until the consultation process is complete.
Our final determination relative to project impacts and the need for mitigation measures is subject to review by and coordination with the National Marine Fisheries Service.
NAVIGATION: The proposed structure or activity is not located in the vicinity of a federal navigation channel.
SECTION 408: The applicant will 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: Water Quality Certification is required from the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board.
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 not been verified by Corps personnel.
EVALUATION: The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impact including cumulative impacts of the proposed activity on the public interest. That decision will reflect the national concern for both protection and utilization of important resources. The benefits, which reasonably may be expected to accrue from the proposal, must be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments. All factors which may be relevant to the proposal will be considered including cumulative impacts thereof; among these are conservation, economics, esthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, historical properties, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, floodplain values, land use, navigation, shoreline erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy needs, safety, food, and fiber production, mineral needs, considerations of property ownership, and in general, the needs and welfare of the people. Evaluation of the impact of the activity on the public interest will also include application of the guidelines promulgated by the Administrator, EPA, under authority of Section 404(b) of the Clean Water Act or the criteria established under authority of Section 102(a) of the Marine Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972. A permit will be granted unless its issuance is found to be contrary to the public interest.
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 consider and evaluate the impacts of this proposed activity. Any comments received will be considered by the Corps to determine whether to issue, modify, condition, or deny a permit for this proposal. To make this determination, comments are used to assess impacts to endangered species, historic properties, water quality, general environmental effects, and the other public interest factors listed above. Comments are used in the preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA) and/or an Environmental Impact Statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Comments are also used to determine the need for a public hearing and to determine the overall public interest of the proposed activity.
The SPN District will receive written comments on the proposed work, as outlined above, until March 2, 2026. Comments should be submitted electronically via the Regulatory Request System (RRS) at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs or to Jennifer Stabile at jennifer.l.stabile@usace.army.mil. Alternatively, you may submit comments in writing to the Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, SPN District, Attention Jennifer Stabile, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, 4th Floor, San Francisco, California 94102. Please refer to the permit application number in your comments.
Any person may request, in writing, within the comment period specified in this notice, that a public hearing be held to consider the application. Requests for public hearings shall state, with particularity, the reasons for holding a public hearing. Requests for a public hearing will be granted, unless the District Engineer determines that the issues raised are insubstantial or there is otherwise no valid interest to be served by a hearing.