TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: The San Francisco District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has received an application for a Department of the Army permit pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. §1344) and/or Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. §403). The purpose of this public notice is to solicit comments from the public regarding the work described below:
AGENT: Mr. Adam Wagschal, GHD
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States and navigable waters of the United States associated with Mad River Slough, and tidelands in Humboldt Bay, and Woodley Island Marina, within Humboldt County, California, Latitude 40.842303° N and Longitude -124.149786° W.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project site is an existing shellfish farm, the Humboldt Bay Oyster Company Shellfish Farm, operating in Humboldt Bay. The current operation consists of a Floating Upwelling System (FLUPSY) at Woodley Island Marina and raft culture and intertidal rack and bag culture in the Mad River slough. The surrounding area is a complex ecosystem used for commercial and recreational purposes, including fishing and boating, and is vital habitat for numerous fish, invertebrate, and bird species.
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Continue and expand production of commercial seafood.
Overall: The project's objectives are to receive approval for the existing FLUPSY, raft culture, and rack and bag culture operations, and to expand the existing rack & bag and/or longline culture methods to increase the production of Pacific oysters, Kumamoto oysters, and Manila clams.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant requests authorization for the following activities:
Continued operation of the existing subtidal FLUPSY and rafts, and intertidal rack and bag culture, covering approximately 20 acres.
Expand intertidal rack and bag culture operations by 3 acres.
Incorporate the allowance for using culture baskets or tipping bags (longline culture) within the existing and proposed intertidal areas.
The total footprint of the project will be approximately 23 acres of shellfish farming.
AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION: The applicant has proposed the following measures to avoid and minimize impacts to the aquatic environment:
Eelgrass Protection: A 10-foot buffer will be maintained between new aquaculture equipment and subtidal channels that contain eelgrass. Vessel routes will be planned to avoid eelgrass beds, and transit will occur at higher tides (minimum two feet of water over eelgrass) to prevent propeller damage. Anchoring in eelgrass beds will be prohibited.
Wildlife Protection: To avoid disturbance of Pacific herring spawn, pre-work surveys will be conducted during spawning season (December-March), and activities will be postponed if eggs are present. To protect black brant and other waterfowl, the installation of new equipment will be limited to the May 15 to June 30 window.
Debris Management: All culture equipment will be marked with the company's name and phone number. During operations, any loose equipment will be immediately removed or secured.
Cultural Resources: The project will comply with the Harbor District's protocol for inadvertent discovery of archaeological or cultural resources, which includes consultation with local Tribes.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION:
At this time the applicant has not offered a compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment.
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.
The District Engineer’s final eligibility and effect determination will be based upon coordination with the SHPO and/or THPO, as appropriate and required, and with full consideration given to the proposed undertaking’s potential direct and indirect effects on historic properties within the Corps-identified permit area.
ENDANGERED SPECIES: The Corps has performed an initial review of the application, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Information for Planning and Consultation (IPaC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Section 7 Mapper, and the NMFS Critical Habitat Mapper to determine if any threatened, endangered, proposed, or candidate species, as well as the proposed and final designated critical habitat may occur in the vicinity of the proposed project. Based on this initial review, the Corps has made a preliminary determination that the proposed project may affect species and critical habitat listed below.
NMFS: Green sturgeon Southern DPS (Acipenser medirostris), Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), Chinook salmon California Coastal ESA (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and critical habitat are potentially present in the action area.
USFWS: Tidewater goby (Eucyclogobius newberryi) and critical habitat are potentially present in the action area.
Pursuant to Section 7 ESA, any required consultation with the Service(s) will be conducted in accordance with 50 CFR part 402.
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: Based on the coordinates provided by the applicant, the waterward edge of the proposed structure is within the Humboldt Bay federal 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 may be required from the North Coast Regional Water 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 San Francisco District will receive written comments on the proposed work, as outlined above, until September 19, 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, San Francisco 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.