The Shasta Valley Resource Conservation
District (SVRCD) partnered with the DFG to
host a meeting Friday, May 14 at the Lake
Shastina Community Center regarding the
Shasta River Watershed-wide Permitting
Program (WPP).
The meeting was originally to be geared
toward agricultural water diverters above
Dwinnell Dam. Prior to the meeting, DFG
staff said, residents from below Dwinnell
contacted the DFG and asked if they could
also attend the meeting. So the PowerPoint
presentation was reworked to include
requirements for those below the reservoir.
But when the approximately 50 attendees at
the meeting were asked whether they lived
above or below the dam, every hand indicated
they were from above Dwinnell.
Andrew Jensen, a DFG staff environmental
scientist, gave the presentation, with a lot
of, “This won’t necessarily pertain to you,”
mixed in with a breakdown of the program.
The WPP was developed in response to coho
salmon being listed as threatened under the
California Endangered Species Act (CESA).
In 2004, the DFG adopted the Recovery
Strategy for California Coho Salmon. But,
worried that a statewide recovery plan
wouldn’t address the unique situations in
the Shasta and Scott valleys, a group of
individuals representing Siskiyou County
formed the Shasta-Scott Coho Recovery Team (SSRT).
The SSRT identified the need for a
“programmatic implementation framework that
works toward the recovery of coho salmon,
while providing authorization for the take
of coho salmon incidental to otherwise
lawful routine agricultural activities in
the Shasta and Scott River watersheds,”
according to the DFG’s Environmental Impact
Report (EIR) for the program.
Typically, individual landowners must, under
Fish and Game Code section 1600, inform the
DFG of diversion plans and, under section
1602, obtain a Streambed Alteration
Agreement (SAA) if they plan to
substantially alter the bed, bank or channel
of a stream or substantially divert the
stream.
Under the program, the SVRCD submits the
application for a watershed-wide incidental
take permit (ITP) and SAA and would
implement key coho salmon recovery projects.
A lot of confusion stemmed from the
inclusion of ITP requirements in the
presentation. DFG Senior Environmental
Scientist Donna Cobb later explained that
those above Dwinnell are not required to
acquire an ITP.
The Resource Conservation District (RCD)
would be responsible for mitigation measures
such as flow enhancement, Dry Year
Contingency Plans, spawning enhancement,
riparian planting and barrier removal.
Individual diverters (landowners) would sign
onto the program as sub-permittees and would
be responsible for avoidance and
minimization measures such as installation
of locking headgates/valves, installing fish
screens and riparian fencing, if they are
deemed necessary.
Drew Braugh, ITP coordinator with the SVRCD,
explained that the idea behind the program
is “to reduce fees by obtaining one permit.”
By signing on for the program, the
landowners could avoid paying anywhere from
$224-$2,000 for an SAA; a $2,500 deposit and
$10,000 or more fee for a California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) study; and
other environmental filing fees.
“We’re trying to lower the burden for each
individual who has a diversion,” Jensen
said. “It’s a way of spreading out the
financial burden. ... You have the choice to
enroll or go it individually.”
But many in the room expressed concern that
they hadn’t heard anything about the program
and permit requirements before receiving a
letter about the meeting.
“The reason the department hasn’t been
sending you letters is that you guys aren’t
affected by the take permit,” Cobb said.
“The decision to open the program to
agricultural diverters above Dwinnell was so
that you could come under the RCD’s CEQA
umbrella. ... We didn’t anticipate initially
opening the door to diverters above
Dwinnell.”
CEQA compliance is required for all
agreements, Cobb said.
Domestic diverters who do not “substantially
divert or obstruct the flow of, or
substantially change or use any material
from the bed, channel, or bank of” the river
do not need to join the program. The program
is meant for agricultural diverters such as
alfalfa growers or timber harvesters.
The group of diverters was worried about the
short timeline they had to decide which road
to take – Braugh said a Notification of
Interest form must be submitted to the RCD
by May 31.
“I’m uncomfortable with the short notice
that doesn’t allow us to check into our
legal rights and see if the Fish and Game
Department is legal in doing this,” one
woman said.
But Cobb emphasized that submitting a
notification and an application, and
allowing the DFG to make a site visit,
doesn’t lock a landowner into the program.
“You don’t sign anything until you see the
conditions and costs and decide that’s what
you want to do,” she said. “The two weeks is
just the enrollment period. You have time to
research.”
Many in attendance called into question the
fact that there is no objective definition
for “substantial” in reference to
diversions, and more than one person asked
why the DFG thinks it has the authority to
now require the permits.
Cobb said “substantial” depends on the
resources available and the amount of water
in the system. The department deals with
determining what is a “substantial” impact
on a case-by-case basis. And, she said,
there have always been requirements that
need to be met; the program is meant to
bring everyone into compliance.
Before much more could be said, residents
began to get up and leave the community
center, and many began shouting or having
side conversations. So Cobb, Jensen, Braugh
and SVRCD District Administrator Adriane
Garayalde began answering individual
questions as people approached them.
For more information about the
Watershed-wide Permitting Program EIR, visit
www.dfg.ca.gov/regions/1/ShastaScott or call
the DFG at (530) 225-2300.
Another presentation regarding the WPP will
be held Thursday, May 20 at 7 p.m. at the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office, 1829
S. Oregon St. For more information, call
440-5921 or 225-2378.
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