The San Rafael Public Works Department, USACE and Audubon Society staff met recently with the San Francisco Bay Restoration Regulatory Integration Team (BRRIT) to discuss the Tiscornia Marsh Restoration Project.
During the meeting, they talked about the ways how to address the challenges to getting the Tiscornia Marsh permitted as a deposit location for sediments removed as part of the upcoming San Rafael Channel dredging project.
The purpose of BRRIT is to improve the permitting process for multi-benefit habitat restoration projects and associated flood management and public access infrastructure in the San Francisco Bay.
Members of the team include representatives from regulatory agencies U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB), California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), and the USACE Regulatory Branch.
The marsh project is still in the design phase, and full design has not been completed at this time.
The construction phase of the project is also not funded. Because of this, the Audubon society has not yet pursued acquisition of the various regulatory agency permits necessary to be an officially sanctioned depositary site for sediments dredged from San Francisco Bay.