In addition to an encroachment permit issued by Reclamation District No. 3, any work on, or near, a levee may require permits from additional agencies. A list of these agencies is as follows. You can find links to each entity in the “links" section of this website.
California State Flood Protection Board
As the local sponsor of the Federal Sacramento River Flood Control Project, the Flood Protection Board requires permits for any work on the levee, or within 30-feet of the landside and waterside toes of the levee. Their main concern is flood control, including the ability to inspect levees. The link to their permits webpage is:
http://www.cvfpb.ca.gov/Permits/index.cfm
U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers has authority under Section 10 of the River and Harbors Act, and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Under these authorities, they require permits for any work performed in navigable waters of the United States, and on any wetlands. Therefore, they would require permits for work on the water side of the levee below the mean high tide, and on wetlands within the levee system that does not qualify for any exemptions from permitting. The link to their regulatory webpage is:
http://www.spk.usace.army.mil/organizations/cespk-co/regulatory/
California Department of Fish and Game
Under Section 1600, et seq, of the California Fish and Game Code, DFG requires permits in the form of Streambed Alteration agreements for any work on the waterside of the levee. They may also require permits elsewhere if project may impact special status species under the California Endangered Species Act. The link to their environmental review and permitting webpage is:
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/habcon/envirRevPermit/
California Regional Water Quality Control Board
As a requirement of permits acquired from the Corps of Engineers, a permit is also required from the California Regional Water Quality Control Board. The link to their webpage regarding permitting is:
http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/centralvalley/help/business_help/permit.shtml
NOAA Fisheries (aka National Marine Fisheries Service)
Although not a permit, NOAA Fisheries offers a biological opinion for Corps of Engineers Permits. These biological opinions included special conditions to allow the work around special status species fish.
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Similar to NOAA Fisheries, USFWS also issues biological opinions for fish and wildlife under their jurisdiction.
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
Over one-third of the levee system protecting Grand Island supports Highway 160 on the levee crown. Therefore, any work within the Caltrans right of way is subject to a permit from Caltrans. In addition, any work that impacts the flow of traffic will also require a Caltrans permit.
Sacramento County
Most of the levee not supporting State Highway 160 supports a County road. Therefore, similar to Caltrans, Sacramento County requires permits for any work in its right of way, or work that affects the flow of traffic.
California State Lands Commission
Any land under the normal water surface as of the date of California’s statehood, September 9, 1850, is considered sovereign land. Any work on, or over this sovereign land boundary is subject to approval from the California State Lands Commission. In most cases, features such as boat docks will require a lease from the State Lands Commission. The link to their leasing and permitting webpage is:
http://www.slc.ca.gov/Regulations/Regulations_Home_Page.html#LeasingandPermits
U. S. Coast Guard
The U. S. Coast Guard reviews permit applications that come through the Corps of Engineer’s Public Notice of pending permits. In most cases, they do not require a permit of their own. However, in some cases, if the encroachment may impact navigation, they may require a permit.
