Table 1. Overview of Federal & State Natural Resource Laws and Regulations Potentially Applicable in California’s Coastal Zone Environmental Law Federal or State Law Responsible Agency Agency Permit, Authorization, Study or Agreement Regulated Activity and Resource Additional Information California Coastal Act (CCA) (PRC §30000 et. seq.) State CCC / BCDC CCC / BCDC / Local Govt Coastal Development Permit (CDP) Activities that modify land or water use in the coastal zone California Endangered Species Act (CESA) (FGC § 2081 & 2090) State CDFW CDFW Incidental Take Permit (Section 2081) or Consistency Determination (Section 2080.1) Activities affecting state-listed species California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (PRC § ) State OPR and SCH (oversight) State Lead Agency Initial Study (IS); Negative Declaration (ND); Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND); Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Discretionary actions proposed to be carried out or approved by California public agencies 2014 CEQA Statue and Guidelines: Section California Fish and Game Code (FGC § 1602 et. seq.) State CDFW CDFW Lake or Streambed Alteration Agreement Activities that divert or obstruct the natural flow or substantially change the bed, bank or channel of a river, stream or lake, or use material from a streambed Section 401, Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 USC 1341) Federal SWRCB (EPA Oversight) RWQCB Water Quality Certification Discharges requiring a federal license or permit to comply with state or federal water quality standards Section 402, Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 USC 1342) Federal SWRCB SWRCB NPDES Permit Point source discharges to surface waters of the U.S. Section 404, Federal USACE USACE General Permit Discharge of dredge or fill
Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 USC 1344) (EPA oversight) (Nationwide, Regional); Standard Permit (Individual); Letter of Permission material into waters of the U.S., including wetlands Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) (16 USC 1451) Federal NOAA CCC / BCDC Federal Consistency Determination Project modifies land or water use in the coastal zone of a state with an approved CMP Section 7 & 10, Endangered Species Act (16 USC Federal USFWS / NMFS USFWS / NMFS Incidental Take Statement / Biological Opinion (BO) (Section 7); Incidental Take Permit (Section 10) Activities affecting species listed as threatened or endangered under the ESA Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) (16 USC 1361 et. seq.) Federal USFWS / NMFS USFWS / NMFS Letter of Authorization (LOA); Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) Activities affecting marine mammals and their products McAteer-Petris Act (Government Code § State BCDC BCDC San Francisco Bay Development Permit Activities within San Francisco Bay and its shoreline National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 USC 4312) Federal CEQ and EPA oversight Federal Lead Agency Environmental Assessment (EA); Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI); Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Major federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment National Historic Preservation Act Federal ACHP / SHPO Federal Lead Memorandum of Agreement / Activities affecting cultural resources
(NHPA) (16 USC 470) Agency Programmatic Agreement Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act (Division 7, California Water Code) State SWRCB RWQCB Waste Discharge Requirement (WDR) Activities that may affect surface or groundwater quality California Public Trust Lands State SLC SLC State Land Use Lease or Amendment Work in public trust lands Section 10, Rivers and Harbors Act (RHA) (33 USC 403) Federal USACE USACE Section 10 Permit Work in, under, or over a navigable waterway Suisun Marsh Preservation Act (PRC § State BCDC BCDC Suisun Marsh Development Permit Activities within Suisun Marsh Acronyms: ACHP – Advisory Council on Historic Preservation BCDC – San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission CCC – California Coastal Commission CDFW – California Department of Fish and Wildlife CEQ – Council on Environmental Quality EPA – Environmental Protection Agency NMFS – National Marine Fisheries Service NOAA – National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration OCRM – Office of Ocean & Coastal Resource Management OPR – Office of Planning and Research RWQCB – Regional Water Quality Control Board SCH – State Clearinghouse SHPO – State Historic Preservation Officer SLC – California State Lands Commission SWRCB – State Water Resources Control Board USACE – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers USFWS – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service