What this permitting pathway covers

The purpose of the Statewide Restoration General Order (SRGO) is to provide waste discharge requirements and Clean Water Act section 401 water quality certification for eligible restoration projects that do not qualify for coverage under the State Water Board’s Order for Small Habitat Restoration Projects, which includes eligibility requirements such as the project size shall not exceed five acres or a cumulative total of 500 linear feet of stream bank or coastline. Project proponents of smaller projects (below the thresholds above) should contact the approving Water Board to verify the most appropriate permit pathway.

A “restoration project” is defined as one that would result in a net increase in aquatic or riparian resource area functions and/or services through implementation of the eligible project types, relevant general protection measures (GPMs), and consideration of design guidelines, described in detail in Attachment A, Order Description and Eligibility.

Projects are authorized by the Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board or approving Water Board) in the geographic area where the project will occur. If the project is under the jurisdiction of more than one Regional Boards, the project will then be authorized by the State Water Board.

Project proponents shall request a pre-application consultation with the approving Water Board as soon as the project concept is developed, or at least 30-days prior to submitting the Notice of Intent (NOI). Use the Staff Directory to locate contact information for each Water Board.

How to use this tool for the SRGO

• Based on the attributes of your project, use the questions below to filter the list of GPMs from Attachment A of the SRGO. Once downloaded, closely review the list generated to ensure the measures are appropriate to your project activities and site-specific conditions.
• Also see the design guidelines in Attachment A when planning your project, as well as the species protection measures in Attachment F of the Program Environmental Impact Report for the SRGO, which can be filtered using this web tool.
• You are encouraged to collaborate with other applicable regulatory agencies in coordination with the approving Water Board during project design to encourage real-time decision making and agreement amongst agencies. Protection measures in the SRGO and PEIR were coordinated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) for consistency with their restoration permitting efforts, however, agency staff may have additional input to consider for project design and selection of protection measures. 
• Provide the list of measures you have identified as applicable to your project, including any proposed additions or modifications, to the approving Regional Board or State Water Board prior to your pre-application consultation meeting (or coordinated multi-agency meeting). During the pre-application meeting, the approving Water Board will review project materials and provide project-specific guidance for navigating the approval process. The list of measures should also be included with submittal of the NOI. 
• Additional or modified project-specific measures to protect water quality and/or beneficial uses may be proposed by the project proponent and/or recommended by the approving Water Board during the application process, based on site-specific conditions or technological constraints or advances. Each GPM may be used in combination with other measures, as applicable to each restoration project.
• In Section G.2. under VI. Project Information in your SRGO Notice of Intent (NOI) (fillable Word form), identify the applicable GPMs and other applicable environmental protection measures to be implemented. Additional pages may be attached as needed.