CEQA and Permitting for PAH Remediation Site

Project Summary

Comprehensive permitting and compliance strategy enables sediment remediation in one of San Francisco Bay’s most visible locations 

A sediment remediation project along the San Francisco waterfront required navigating complex regulatory and logistical challenges. To comply with a cleanup order for a site located in a high-traffic tourism area with resident marine mammals, the project required multiple federal, state, and local authorizations as well as compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act. The project required careful planning to minimize business interruptions to tenants. Through proactive agency engagement and strategic mitigation planning, Integral delivered comprehensive environmental review, permitting, and compliance services that maintained aggressive project schedules while addressing sensitive marine mammal protections and public perception. 

Location: San Francisco, California

Challenge

High-profile waterfront remediation requires balancing cleanup mandates with environmental regulatory requirements, public access, business operations, and environmental protection. 

Our client faced multiple complex requirements: 

• Operating under a regulatory cleanup order in a valued tourism area

• Coordinating multiple permits and authorizations while maintaining tenant operations and meeting cleanup schedules 

• Managing physical and logistical constraints, including citing and permitting of an offsite facility to manage the contaminated sediments 

• Addressing multiple stakeholder concerns, including environmental justice considerations 

• Responding to marine mammal presence that created both technical complexity and public relations challenges 

Our Role

Integral provided comprehensive permitting expertise and strategic guidance to navigate complex multi-agency requirements. 

Our team delivered specialized capabilities across project phases: 

Planning & Permitting Phase: 

• Environmental review under California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 

• Biological assessments and Clean Water Act Section 401/404 permits 

• Special-status species authorizations and habitat permits (federal and state Endangered Species Act) 

• Bay Area Conservation and Development Commission Major Permit 

• Marine Mammal Incidental Harassment Authorization 

• Cultural resource assessments 

• Evaluation of multiple options for an offsite facility to manage contaminated sediments and obtaining permits for the facility operations, including air and discharge permitting 

• Mitigation planning and strategic guidance  

Implementation Phase: 

• Monitoring plans and biological compliance monitoring services 

• Data interpretation and reporting for water and air quality monitoring 

• Permit and CEQA amendments as needed 

What We Delivered

Complete regulatory authorization package enabling remediation in one of California’s most challenging permitting environments. 

We delivered Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration and addendum under CEQA, plus a comprehensive permit portfolio including Section 10 River and Harbors Act and Section 404 Clean Water Act authorizations from USACE with formal NMFS and USFWS ESA Section 7 consultations, Clean Water Act 401 Certification from the Regional Board , CDFW Incidental Take Permit, and BCDC Major permit (including Engineering Review Board) a Marine Mammal Incidental Harassment Authorization, NPDES permit for water discharge, and a Permit to Operate (air permit). 

Our services included monitoring plans, monitoring reports, mitigation plans, and ongoing biological monitoring with data interpretation and reporting for water and air quality monitoring programs. 

The Result

Successful permit acquisition and implementation support maintaining aggressive project schedules while addressing sensitive environmental concerns. 

Our comprehensive approach successfully obtained all required permits and authorizations while meeting aggressive project schedules and supporting ongoing implementation. We navigated complex regulatory programs successfully, handled sensitive marine mammal issues without project delays, and provided strategic guidance that delivered good value for our client.