State Water Board unveils conceptual tiered fee plan for water quality certifications; counties warn of costs for flood-control maintenance

State Water Resources Control Board staff on May 21 presented a conceptual, points-based fee methodology for water quality certification applications that would group projects into five fee tiers and assess higher per-acre charges for higher-risk projects, while county flood-control officials and mitigation developers urged changes to avoid large bills for routine maintenance and restoration work.

The proposal — described by Samantha Parker, a wetland permitting program staffer with the board, as “still at the concept phase” — would assign points to projects across factors such as permit type, whether a Waste Discharge Requirement is needed under the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, permanent versus temporary impacts, and the level of alternatives analysis. Points would be totaled to place projects into one of five fee tiers; tiers 2–5 would include a flat application fee plus a per-acre component, while tier 1 would replace the existing low-impact category and be a lower flat fee. Parker cautioned that “these numbers are just conceptual placeholders,” and said staff will work with the fee unit in the Department of Administrative Services to translate points into dollar amounts based on the fee-setting budget for the fiscal year in which a methodology is adopted.

Why it matters: Water quality certification in this program is entirely fee funded through the Waste Discharge Permit Fund, meaning changes affect…