SCH Number 2024040668

Project Info

Title

Petition by Sonoma County Water Agency Requesting Approval of a Temporary Urgency Change in Permits 12947A, 12949, 12950 and 16596 in Mendocino and Sonoma Count

Description

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued its Biological Opinion for Water Supply, Flood Control Operations, and Channel Maintenance conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Sonoma County Water Agency, and the Mendocino County Russian River Flood Control and Water Conservation Improvement District in the Russian River Watershed (2008 Russian River Biological Opinion) on September 24, 2008. NMFS concluded in the Russian River Biological Opinion that the continued operations of Coyote Valley Dam and Warm Springs Dam by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and Sonoma County Water Agency (Sonoma Water) in a manner similar to recent historic practices, together with Sonoma Water’s stream channel maintenance activities and estuary management, are likely to jeopardize and adversely modify critical habitat for endangered Central California Coast coho salmon and threatened Central California Coast steelhead. The term of the 2008 Russian River Biological Opinion was for 15 years, thereby ending in 2023. Sonoma Water and the Corps have completed a Biological Assessment and initiated consultation with NMFS to prepare the second iteration of the Russian River Biological Opinion. California Endangered Species Act compliance for state listed Coho salmon will be provided by incidental take permits issued by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) for specific Sonoma Water Projects. The next Biological Opinion will have a 10-year term and is anticipated to start by the end of 2024. To be in accordance with the terms and conditions of the 2008 Russian River Biological Opinion and to avoid excessively high flows that could result in violations to the Biological Opinion’s Incidental Take Statement, Sonoma Water is filing temporary urgency change petitions with the SWRCB. The petitions request that the SWRCB make the following changes to Sonoma Water’s water rights permits for the period from May 1, 2024, until October 15, 2024: (a) reduce the required minimum instream flow in the Russian River from the confluence of the East and West Forks to the river’s confluence with Dry Creek from 185 cfs to 125 cfs; and (b) reduce required minimum instream flow in the Russian River from its confluence with Dry Creek to the Pacific Ocean from 125 cfs to 70 cfs.

2 documents in project