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Montezuma Permit Progress

The bovine species now gnashing the grass on 1,800 acres near the mouth of the Sacramento River will be supplanted by smaller and scarcer creatures if the final permit for the Montezuma Wetlands Project goes through. The project would use 20 million cubic yards of mud dredged from Bay harbors to raise the land level of these diked cow pastures back to tidal elevations, restore the area's long-lost wetlands and provide habitat for black-crowned night herons, white-faced ibis, river otter, mice, smelt and the tule pea.

A recent draft environmental impact report on the project examined impacts at Montezuma and two other alternative sites: Bel Marin Keys and Hamilton Air Force Base in Marin County. Though the report identified tidal salt marsh restoration at Hamilton as the "environmentally preferred alternative" (a project here would displace fewer existing seasonal wetlands and not disturb any endangered salt marsh harvest mice), it also stated that Montezuma, if successful, would have the greatest environmental benefits because it would restore brackish rather than salt marsh, and a lot more wetland in general (1,820 versus 840 acres). Also in Montezuma's favor is the fact that while public dollars would be needed to rehabilitate the Marin sites, the Solano County project is privately owned and sponsored by Levine-Fricke and Cattelus Corporation.

According to project director Stuart Siegel, there were several basic areas of feedback on the draft EIR. Reviewers want better guards against overfilling with "cover sediment" (dredged material that passes enough toxicity and leaching tests to be used to create marsh surface or as landfill cover) and to see a more conservative approach to managing any "non-cover" sediments (material that passes the leaching test but may contain traces of chemicals or metals). They also wanted more mitigation for loss of seasonal wetlands and more intensive monitoring. In response, Levine-Fricke will be lowering certain areas of the marsh (thus allowing for more natural sediment build up over time), placing non-cover sediments 3 feet below the surface (plant roots only reach down 2 feet) and beyond a 200-foot setback from tidal channels, actively managing upland drainages as replacement seasonal wetlands and developing what Siegel calls a "milestone-based monitoring plan to provide a level of comfort that everything is working every step of the way." Montezuma could get its Army Corps permit as early as this November.

Contact: Stuart Siegel (510)652-4500

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