Featured IWRP Projects
IWRP Design & Permit Coordination Process
Design & Permitting Technical Advisory Committee
Design & Permitting Coordinator
IWRP Design & Permitting Process Guidelines
Manual
Benefits of the Design & Permitting Coordination
Process
The IWRP Design & Permitting Coordination Process emerges from
two major IWRP objectives: to facilitate higher quality designs
at lower cost, and to simplify the permitting process for watershed
restoration projects.The IWRP Design & Permitting Coordination
Process will benefit IWRP project leads, consultants, and permitting
staff alike by clarifying requirements, coordinating timeframes,
and streamlining paperwork (see Benefits).
What follows is an explanation of how the different components of
the coordination process work together to create these many benefits.
(Due to funding limitations, the IWRP Design & Permitting
Coordination Process is available only for IWRP-selected projects.)
Design & Permitting Technical Advisory Committee
Representatives of key resource and permitting
agencies comprise the D/P TAC, a committee which works closely
with the D/P Coordinator. The committee advises
IWRP staff in the development of project batching and other strategies
to accommodate time and staffing constraints. Committee members
and agency engineers also provide expert guidance on project designs
and ways to minimize impacts to sensitive resources in order to
meet permitting and environmental review requirements.
Some of the greatest time- and cost-savings of the coordination
process come from bringing together IWRP project leads, consultants,
and resource and permitting staff early in the process to discuss
design approaches before they begin. By reviewing the project proposals
and attending site visits, the resource and permitting staff can
more fully understand a particular project, including its opportunities
and constraints. These agency staffers can then guide the project
leads and consultants toward a design approach that will satisfy
permit requirements. This saves the project leads time and money
by avoiding costly re-designs, and reduces the amount of time spent
by permitting agencies reviewing permit applications. The success
of this pre-design feedback strategy will depend upon the level
of participation of the agencies and the preparation of the project
leads prior to the site visits.
In addition to attending the pre-design site visits for fish passage
projects, agency engineers review designs at the 90% completion
stage. If any last-minute adjustments are required, project leads
can make these before submitting permit applications, helping to
ensure timely approval.
The D/P TAC is comprised of the following
agencies:
County of Santa Cruz
California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG)
Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB)
California Coastal Commission
NOAA Fisheries
US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
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Design & Permitting Coordinator
The D/P Coordinator position was created to serve as the liaison
between IWRP project leads and the resource and permitting agencies.
This means that project leads have a single point-of-contact for
all of their design and permitting questions. Likewise, the permitting
agencies can deal with just one person rather than with numerous
project applicants. Nicole Martin, from Sustainable Conservation,
was chosen to be the D/P Coordinator due to her extensive experience
working with permitting agencies and setting up other permit coordination
programs.
The D/P Coordinator arranges site visits with agency staff, tracks
the status of each IWRP design project, anticipates issues early
on, and refers questions to the appropriate permitting or IWRP staff.
The Coordinator also advises IWRP project leads in preparing and
submitting permit applications, ensuring consistency in content
and high quality applications. To the extent possible, the Coordinator
bundles applications to submit together, helping agency staff to
make efficient use of their time by reviewing several IWRP projects
at once rather than on a project-by-project basis. The Coordinator
also helps to plan timelines—deciding when to submit permit
applications, and negotiating permit extensions if necessary—to
ensure that permits don’t expire before implementation funding
is available.
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IWRP Design & Permitting
Process Guidelines Manual
The IWRP Design &
Permitting Coordination Process Guidelines Manual is an essential
reference for IWRP project leads and anyone wanting to understand
the permitting process. It brings together key guidance from the
permitting agencies on acceptable design standards, analytical reports
that may be required, and situations that will trigger a need for
permits.
The Guidelines Manual also outlines the cornerstone document for
each IWRP project, the Project Design & Permit Plan (PDPP).
Project Leads leads create a PDPP by compiling information about
the site location, problem to be addressed, design alternatives
considered, and known environmental concerns. The resource and permitting
agencies then review this document and determine whether they need
to attend a site visit. Agencies add their feedback on particular
issues of concern, preferred design approach, and the specific permits
and analytical reports that will be required. The PDPP thus becomes
a historical record of agency feedback and agreements.
The basic format for the Project Design & Permit Plan was developed
with input from the various permitting agencies on their particular
requirements. Project leads who have completed a PDPP and have developed
some preliminary design alternatives are prepared to get the most
out of an agency site visit.
The Guidelines Manual also provides templates for the PDPP and
other key documents such as contracts, work programs, and reporting
requirements. Click here to download these documents individually.
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Benefits of the Design &
Permitting Coordination Process
The IWRP Design & Permitting Coordination Process will help
to make the most effective use of funding for watershed restoration
in Santa Cruz County. The bulk of the funding for Phase 1 of IWRP
is geared toward making the project recommendations from the watershed
plans become a reality. Over $3.2 million is dedicated to developing
designs and obtaining permits for 75-95 restoration projects in
the seven county watersheds, including approximately 55 projects
from watershed plan recommendations, plus another 20-40 rural road-related
erosion control projects. With designs completed designs and permits
obtained through IWRP, these projects will be more likely to be
awarded implementation funding over the next three to five years.
Benefits of the IWRP Design & Permitting Coordination Process
For IWRP Project Leads and Consultants:
• Guidelines
Manual - a ready-reference of all the documents needed for
IWRP projects.
• Early feedback on design approach through paper review
and site visits.
• Review by CDFG and NOAA Fisheries engineers on fish passage
projects.
• Coordinating timing of permit applications with availability
of implementation funding.
For Agency Staff:
• Advance notice of upcoming permit applications. This enables
staff to group applications into batches and to better anticipate
and schedule workload.
• Coordinating preparation and submittal of permit applications.
Applications cleared by the D/P Coordinator are ensured of consistently
high quality and completeness.
For Everyone:
• A single point-of-contact. The Design & Permitting
Coordinator is the go-to person for both IWRP project leads and
agencies, simplifying communication, anticipating issues, and
coordinating multiple projects.
• Documentation of agency feedback. The Project Design &
Permit Plan (PDPP) records decisions made over the course of the
project development, establishing support for the selected design
alternative and compiling a comprehensive brief for any new staffers
who may join a project already underway.
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