Elk River TMDL

The North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Water Board) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have listed the Elk River watershed under the Clean Water Act Section 303(d) as a sediment impaired waterbody. The impairments are impacting several beneficial uses, including the cold water fishery, domestic and agricultural water supplies as well as resulting in nuisance flooding conditions.  A program has been developed to recover 303(d) List waterbodies via the establishment of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL).

At this time, the Regional Water Board staff is in the process of developing a TMDL for sediment in the Elk River watershed. The purpose of the TMDL is to establish loading capacities for sediment while meeting water quality standards and restoring beneficial uses of water of Elk River and its tributaries. Regional Water Board staff are developing the technical aspects of the TMDL including source assessment and load allocations as well as the implementation strategy/program to describe the nature of actions necessary to achieve water quality objectives, a time schedule for the actions to be taken, and monitoring to determine compliance with objectives, for the Boards consideration.

March 15, 2012 Public Workshop

On March 15, 2012 the Regional Water Board held a public workshop on the development of the Sediment TMDL in the Elk River watershed. The purpose of the workshop was to inform the Regional Water Board and public about the status of the Elk River TMDL, discuss related actions that are an outgrowth of the TMDL development, and present a schedule for completion of the draft TMDL and associated Basin Plan amendment. The following links are for materials associated with the workshop:

• Notice of Public Workshop March 15 Elk TMDL
• Executive Officer's Summary Report
• Power Point Presentation
  

Elk River Restoration Summit

On February 8 and 9, 2012, staff of the Regional Water Board, in coordination with Redwood Community Action Agency (RCAA) held a public workshop to explore strategies for restoration of the Lower Elk River watershed.  The primary purpose of this summit was to convene affected landowners, resource agency staff, technical experts, potential funders, and diverse stakeholders to discuss approaches to addressing long-standing channel restoration, excess sediment loads, nuisance flooding, and related issues in the Lower Elk River watershed. 

Presentations from the summit include:

• Overview of Regional Water Board Programs in Elk River
• RCAA Waterboard Grant Overview
• A Restoration Approach for Elk River
• Elk River Pilot Modeling
• Elk River Pilot Project Hydrodynamic and Sediment Transport Model

Preliminary Review Drafts

As documents associated with the development of the Elk River TMDL become available, they will be posted at this location. Additionally, staff will conduct public meetings to provide an overview of the documents and provide an opportunity for the public to comment and have their questions, concerns, and suggestions considered as part of the TMDL development process.
Regional Water Board, North staff have developed preliminary drafts of the Watershed Overview (Chapter 1), and Problem Statement (Chapter 2) of the proposed Staff Report for the Elk River Sediment TMDL, as well as a summary of the source categories and the Implementation Plan framework. Together, these serve as the CEQA Scoping Documents. Copies of these documents may also be obtained by contacting the Regional Water Board’s office (contact information provided above). Interested Parties are encouraged to review the documents and provide comment to the Regional Water Board staff.

• Draft Chapter 1 Elk River TMDL Introduction (pdf, 5 Mb)
• Draft Chapter 2 Elk River TMDL Problem Statement (pdf, 5 Mb)
• Appendix A Elk River and Freshwater Creek TMDL Resident Interviews (pdf, 3 Mb)
  
• Appendix B LiDAR Report (pdf, 374 Kb)
• Appendix C History of Regional Water Board Regulatory Actions in Elk River (pdf, 37 Kb)
• Appendix D Tributary Fisheries Summaries (pdf, 29 Kb)
• Draft Chapter 3 Upper Elk River Source Analysis (May, 2011) (pdf, 1.5 Mb)
• Draft Elk River TMDL Implementation Framework (pdf, 176 Kb)

CEQA Scoping:

On April 17, 2009, Regional Water Board staff announced the start of the required California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) scoping period for the Elk River Sediment TMDL. On May 20, 2009, Regional Water Board staff held a CEQA scoping meeting in Eureka. The purpose of the CEQA scoping meeting was to describe the Regional Water Board staff’s approach for development of the Elk River Sediment TMDL. Staff provided examples of best management practices (BMPs) that might reasonably be implemented to comply with the sediment TMDL and to seek the public’s input on potential environmental impacts that might result from construction and maintenance of this type of BMPs. The scoping period remained open until June 22, 2009, during which the public was invited to submit additional comments. A summary of the written CEQA Scoping Comments received by Regional Water Board staff are provided below.

• Summary of CEQA Scoping Comments (pdf, 36 Kb)

CEQA Resources:

• CEQA Glossary (pdf, 114 Kb)
• Environmental Checklist Form (pdf, 58 Kb)

Elk River Documents

• Elk River TMDL Area (12/13/2007, pdf, 227 Kb)
  
  
• Elk River Bank Erosion Void Assessment and Bank Erosion-Related Wood Inventory
  Humboldt County, California (11/2009, pdf, 10 Mb)

• Freshwater Creek TMDL Sediment Source Assessment, Phase 1 (8/2006, pdf, 18 Mb)

• Landslide Hazard in the Elk River Basin, Humboldt County, California
• Final Report (6/1/2007, pdf, 609 Kb)
• Figures (6/1/2007, pdf, 4.9 Mb)
• Appendices (6/1/2007, pdf, 914 Kb)

• Preliminary Assessment Of Flooding In Lower Elk River
  (8/17/2004, pdf, 1020 Kb)
  
  
• Final Report on Sediment Impairment and Effects on Beneficial Uses of the Elk River and Stitz, Bear, Jordan and Freshwater Creeks (12/27/2002, pdf, 1.6 Mb)
  
  
• Phase II of the Final Report on Sediment Impairment and Effects on Beneficial Uses of the Elk River and Stitz, Bear, Jordan and Freshwater Creeks is now available (8/12/2003, pdf, 1 Mb)
  
  
• Staff Report for Proposed Regional Water Board Actions in the North Fork Elk River, Bear Creek, Freshwater Creek, Jordan Creek and Stitz Creek Watersheds (9/9/2000, pdf, 161 Kb)

Mailing Lists

Interested parties who would like to receive email notifications for various North Coast Regional Water Board issues, including the Elk River TMDL, can sign up on the Email List Subscription Form located at:
http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/resources/email_subscriptions/reg1_subscribe.shtml

If you prefer to receive hard copy notifications for the Elk River TMDL, please call 707-576-2220, send an email requesting to be added to the Elk River TMDL mailing list along with your name and address to: Terri Korell at TKorell@waterboards.ca.gov, or send your request and name and address via mail to:

Terri Korell
5550 Skylane Blvd, Suite A
Santa Rosa, Ca 95403

Contact Information:

Adona White
707-576-2672
AWhite@waterboards.ca.gov

Rebecca Fitzgerald, TMDL Development Unit Lead
707-576-2650
RFitzgerald@waterboards.ca.gov

Holly Lundborg, Senior Basin Planning Unit
707-576-2609
HLundborg@waterboards.ca.gov

(Updated April 18, 2012 )