California

Section 401 certification: conditioned (4 conditions)

Certifying authority: State Water Resources Control Board (statewide); EPA Region 9 (certain tribal/federal lands)

Read from California's Clean Water Act section 401 certification decision for the 2026 nationwide permit reissuance.

1. State Water Resources Control Board (15 December 2025) granted certification with conditions for 18 nationwide permits (1, 3a, 4-6, 9-11, 13, 14, 20, 22, 28, 32, 36, 54, 57, 58) and denied certification for 39 nationwide permits, which require individual 401 certification or a waiver project-by-project within SWRCB's jurisdiction.

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2. EPA Region 9 (11 December 2025), the certifying authority on certain tribal/federal lands within the San Francisco District, unconditionally granted water quality certification for 20 nationwide permits, conditionally granted a further group, and expressly waived certification for NWPs 24 and 34; none were denied.

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3. Several California tribes issued their own Section 401 decisions within their lands: the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation, Pulikla Tribe of Yurok People and Yurok Tribe denied certification for most or all nationwide permits (individual certification or waiver required); the Quartz Valley Indian Community, and the Dry Creek Rancheria and Karuk Tribe by non-response, waived certification for all nationwide permits.

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4. The California Coastal Commission (26 September 2025) objected to the Corps' consistency determination under the California Coastal Act (Pub. Res. Code s.30233), so an applicant must seek individual coastal-zone consistency concurrence from the CCC for NWP activity within or affecting the coastal zone under CCC jurisdiction. The Bay Conservation and Development Commission offered conditional concurrence that the Corps declined to accept as unenforceable; no blanket CZMA concurrence was obtained from either body.

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