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<br />7A - ATTACHMENT NO.2 <br />Page 29 <br /> <br />quality certification under section 401 of the Clean Water Act in connection with the <br />issuance of Federal permits, and (3) stormwater discharges to the bay. <br /> <br />Salt production facility decommissioning and restoration. Decommissioning and <br />restoring the site will involve grading and fill activities adjacent to the bay. To the extent <br />these activities involve the potential discharge of brine, salt, bittern, sediment, or other <br />pollutants to the bay, RWQCB will have permitting authority over those activities. If <br />RWQCB determines that the salt production facility represents a threat to water quality, <br />RWQCB will have jurisdiction over how the decommissioning of the site is performed. <br />DMB has not provided the City with detailed plans concerning how decommissioning, <br />restoration and grading activities will be carried out. For this reason, it is not possible to <br />determine whether or on what terms RWQCB will exercise its permitting and <br />enforcement authority. If the City moves forward with the CEQA process, then the EIR <br />should describe how these activities will be carried out and analyze their potential impact <br />on water quality. The City should consult with the RWQCB to ensure that the discussion <br />contains sufficient information so that RWQCB exercise its regulatory authority over <br />these activities. <br /> <br />Clean Water Act Section 40 1 Water Ouality Certification. Section 401 of the <br />Clean Water Act provides that states must certify that any activity subject to a permit <br />issued by a federal agency, such as the USACE, meets all state water quality standards. <br />Section 401 certification is required for projects that include dredging or filling or <br />otherwise impact waters of the United States. <br /> <br />In California, the State Water Quality Control Board and the regional boards (in <br />this case, the San Francisco Bay region) are responsible for performing certifications for <br />activities subject to 404 permits issued by USACE. Each section 401 certification issued <br />by RWQCB incorporates State Water Resources Control Board Order No. 2003-0017- <br />DWQ, "General Waste Discharge Requirements for Dredge and Fill Discharges that <br />Have Received State Water Quality Certification." The section 401 certification <br />acknowledges that the activity subject to the federal permit complies with California <br />water quality standards. If the RWQCB does not grant the section 401 certification, then <br />the Federal permit is deemed denied. <br /> <br />In this case, DMB may be required to obtain a section 404 permit from USACE. <br />As noted above, one issue surrounding this permit is the extent of USACE's jurisdiction <br />over the site. RWQCB's jurisdiction is broader than that of USACE. RWQCB's <br />jurisdiction extends to "waters of the State," which means "any surface water or <br />groundwater, including saline waters, within the boundaries of the state." (Wat. Code, ~ <br />13050, subd. (e).) <br /> <br />RWQCB's Basin Plan includes the following discussion of its jurisdiction and <br />policies concerning impacts to wetlands: <br /> <br />29 <br />