Construction Surveys and Monitoring

The Designated Biologist surveys TRBL habitat each year Covered Activities are expected to occur in it, and Permittee reports each survey to CDFW in the Monthly Compliance Report and summarizes them in the Annual Status Report.

Twin Cities Complex

In ProgressDue 2027-01-191 of 3 done

Permittee evaluates baseline water quality before construction to characterize mercury sources and concentrations of mercury, methylmercury, organic carbon, iron and sulfate at each construction site, then implements MMMP mercury monitoring each year in-water Covered Activities occur, reporting results in the Monthly Compliance Report and summarizing them in the Annual Status Report.

Byron Tract Forebay

Not StartedDue 2027-04-262 of 3 done

Intake B — North Delta

In ProgressDue 2027-02-281 of 3 done

Permittee photographs each established photo monitoring station before construction and every month until construction and initial restoration are complete, then every three months until restoration success is reached, visiting all stations within two days per cycle and delivering the images in a geographic format monthly with the Monthly Compliance Report and in full with the Annual Status Report.

Intake B — North Delta

Not StartedDue 2026-08-151 of 3 done

Permittee develops with CDFW and implements the sediment and turbidity, harmful algal bloom, selenium bioaccumulation and mercury study plans, running them from the preconstruction baseline period through Phase 2 Operations and evaluating results with the Covered Fish Species life cycle models against the Biological Criteria. Each study carries an adaptive element that expands effort if impacts are detected.

Bouldin Island Geotechnical Exploration

In ProgressDue 2026-07-17

Byron Tract Forebay

Completed

Permittee implements the CDFW-approved Subsurface Testing and Monitoring Study Plan on surface and subsurface vibration effects on CTS, GGS and CBB before initiating Covered Activities at any Project site containing suitable habitat for those species. Results and the proposed vibratory monitoring protocols are carried into the Construction Phase Authorization Package.

Byron Tract Forebay

On HoldDue 2026-07-30

Permittee funds, initiates and implements Covered Fish Species monitoring and science for DS, LFS, CHNWR, CHNSR and WS, beginning with at least five years of In-water Preconstruction Baseline Monitoring before in-water construction and continuing through In-water Construction, Phase 1 Operations and Phase 2 Operations Monitoring. Aquatic conditions assessments for each period feed the Phase 2 Authorization Package and the Final Mitigation Report.

Bouldin Island Geotechnical Exploration

In ProgressDue 2026-09-20

Byron Tract Forebay

In ProgressDue 2026-06-28

Permittee funds, installs and maintains a real-time monitoring station downstream of north Delta Intake C, equipped like the CDEC Sacramento River at Hood station, before In-water Preconstruction Baseline Monitoring begins, and provides the data to CDFW in real time at 15-minute increments.

Byron Tract Forebay

Completed

When the Designated Biologist determines that nesting SWHA within 0.5 mile of the construction site are in distress or showing abnormal nesting behavior from Covered Activities, the biologist stops the work and immediately notifies the Designated Representative.

Southern Forebay & Pumping Plant

Overdue

Twin Cities Complex

On Hold

A Fisheries Biologist or Biological Monitor visits each site requiring barges, including each north Delta intake and geotechnical exploration site, during the growing season before work begins, during construction, and annually for up to five years after construction, recording the extent of emergent and riparian vegetation, bank conditions on both riverbanks and general site conditions.

Bouldin Island Geotechnical Exploration

On HoldDue 2026-06-161 of 3 done

Byron Tract Forebay

Not StartedDue 2026-12-282 of 3 done

Intake B — North Delta

Not StartedDue 2027-01-012 of 3 done

Permittee verifies through Annual Status Report documentation of impacts and mitigation that the assumed impact multipliers for the 230 kV transmission lines and for preconstruction activities hold, comparing actual disturbance against the assumed tower footprint, work area and temporary surface impact shares.

Southern Forebay & Pumping Plant

Not StartedDue 2026-11-272 of 3 done

Twin Cities Complex

Not StartedDue 2027-06-022 of 3 done

No more than 14 days before Covered Activities begin at a construction site, Permittee photographs each distinct suitable habitat area with at least five photographs per area, one each from the north, south, east and west plus one facing the area, separately for each Covered Species' habitat, and files the images in the GIS habitat tracking.

Bethany Reservoir Aqueduct

Not StartedDue 2026-11-01

After the Construction Phase Authorization Package is submitted, the Designated Biologist repeats the GGS survey each year Covered Activities are expected in GGS habitat or within three feet of it, and Permittee reports the results to CDFW in the Monthly Compliance Reporting and summarizes them in the Annual Status Report.

Byron Tract Forebay

On HoldDue 2027-01-051 of 3 done

Each year Covered Activities are expected in MALI habitat, and again before SCADA or transmission line maintenance and repair, the Designated Biologist or Biological Monitor repeats the MALI preconstruction survey so that non-disturbance buffers can be placed around any plants found.

Southern Forebay & Pumping Plant

Not StartedDue 2026-11-082 of 3 done

Twin Cities Complex

Not StartedDue 2026-06-051 of 3 done

Bouldin Island Geotechnical Exploration

In ProgressDue 2027-02-231 of 3 done

Before any Covered Activity starts at a construction site, a CDFW-approved Designated Biologist qualified in botanical surveys submits the sampling methodology to CDFW in the Phase Authorization Package and then conducts a qualitative and quantitative baseline survey of invasive plant type, location and abundance within the site using that methodology.

Twin Cities Complex

Not StartedDue 2026-11-06

Bouldin Island Geotechnical Exploration

Not StartedDue 2026-03-04

Byron Tract Forebay

In ProgressDue 2026-06-20

Before any vegetation clearing or ground-disturbing Covered Activity, the Designated Biologist or Biological Monitor completes nocturnal walking or cover-board surveys giving 100 percent visual coverage of the construction site and its 75-foot boundary at every site in suitable upland habitat within 1.3 miles of a CTS breeding site, checking beneath woody debris and other refugia. Any CTS found is moved by the Designated Biologist under the CTS Relocation Plan.

Bouldin Island Geotechnical Exploration

Overdue

Byron Tract Forebay

Not Started

Within 24 hours before exclusion fencing is installed, the Designated Biologist or Biological Monitor surveys the construction site and three-foot buffer with 100 percent visual coverage for GGS. If a snake is found, installation is delayed until it leaves on its own or is removed and relocated under COA 11.67.

Intake C — North Delta

In Progress

Bethany Reservoir Aqueduct

Not Started

The Designated Biologist field-surveys the planned construction site and accessible land within 1,300 feet of it to identify suitable habitat for each Covered Species as defined in COA 10.4. The initial results, the spatial extent of suitable habitat per species and the total area surveyed are included in the Construction Phase Authorization Package.

Bethany Reservoir Aqueduct

OverdueDue 2026-05-12

When preconstruction field investigations must occur during the SWHA nesting season, the Designated Biologist surveys the preconstruction activity site and the area within 0.5 mile for nesting SWHA before those activities begin.

Intake C — North Delta

In Progress

Bethany Reservoir Aqueduct

On Hold

After aquatic habitat is dewatered, the Designated Biologist surveys all suitable GGS aquatic and upland habitat within the construction site that lies outside established ESAs, and relocates any GGS observed under the GGS Relocation Plan.

Intake C — North Delta

In ProgressDue 2026-04-07

Bethany Reservoir Aqueduct

Not StartedDue 2026-06-19

Before ground disturbance or vegetation removal in suitable CBB habitat during the colony active period (February 1 to October 31, or until flowering vegetation is largely desiccated), the Designated Biologist with Biological Monitor assistance runs at least three protocol surveys beyond the baseline, spaced two to four weeks apart with the last within 72 hours of construction, in every year work occurs in or within 50 feet of suitable habitat, and repeats the surveys in undisturbed habitat…

Byron Tract Forebay

On HoldDue 2026-07-121 of 3 done

Intake B — North Delta

In ProgressDue 2026-11-251 of 3 done

At least five days before earthmoving in an area, the Designated Biologist or Biological Monitor identifies and flags all potential burrows, soil cracks, crevices and other habitat features that lie within the construction site but outside the planned direct-disturbance footprint, including all avoidable burrows, demarcates areas of high burrow concentration for avoidance, and uses signs, stakes or flags clearly distinguishable from work-area markings.

Intake B — North Delta

Not StartedDue 2026-12-17

Intake C — North Delta

In ProgressDue 2026-08-26

Bethany Reservoir Aqueduct

Completed

At least one year before in-water construction begins, Permittee funds and implements, with CDFW, a study within the Abundance and Distribution Study that determines where Delta Smelt and Longfin Smelt spawn in the Sacramento River, the share of adults spawning upstream of the north Delta intakes, bank and low-velocity habitat use for adult and larval migration, and the substrate, velocity and salinity characteristics of spawning habitat.

Intake C — North Delta

Completed

Bethany Reservoir Aqueduct

In ProgressDue 2026-12-17