The Statutory Exemption for Restoration Projects (SERP), set to expire next year, has facilitated 48 restoration projects totaling over 20,000 acres
California is known for strong laws protecting the environment; however, these policies meant to protect natural resources can unintentionally slow down projects that restore essential habitats and imperiled ecosystems. Recognizing this, the Newsom Administration signed an Executive Order in October 2020 directing state agencies to “implement actions to increase the pace and scale of environmental restoration and land management efforts by streamlining the State’s process to approve and facilitate these projects.” This has become known as the “Cutting the Green Tape Initiative.”
The Cutting the Green Tape Initiative has several permitting and CEQA tools for restoration permitting, including the Restoration Management Permit, Restoration Consistentcy Determination, and the Habitat Restoration and Enchancement Act. In 2021, Governor Newsom added another tool to the toolbox when he signed SB 155, creating a CEQA statutory exemption for restoration projects that meet specific requirements. The provision is set to sunset on January 1, 2025 unless it is renewed by the legislature.
For the Statutory Exemption for Restoration Projects (or SERP) to apply, the project must aim to improve habitat conditions for native fish and wildlife, resulting in long-term net benefits to climate resiliency, biodiversity, and species recovery. The project must also include procedures and ongoing management to protect the environment. The project may have incidental public benefits, such as public access and recreation, but it’s not required. The exemption does not extend to projects that include construction activities unless those construction activities are somehow linked to facilitate the restoration itself.
To apply for the exemption, the lead agency first determines independently that their project meets the criteria and seeks concurrence from the Director of the Department of Fish and Wildlife. The projects are then reviewed, the decision made, and the documents posted on the Department’s website once approved.
Since it is an exemption, there are no requirements for outreach, stakeholder engagement, or engagement with Native American tribes, but it is nonetheless strongly encouraged. Projects in the Delta are further encouraged to engage with the Delta Stewardship Council to ensure the project is consistent with the Delta Plan. Project applicants are also encouraged to use the Good Neighbor Checklists and submit documentation that they have done so.
Since the Statutory Exemption for Restoration Projects Program (SERP) was initiated, 48 projects have benefitted, facilitating the restoration of over 20,000 acres. These projects include wood addition, tidal marsh restoration, fuels reductions, and upland enhancements. On average, feedback suggests that projects are saving about seven months and over $100,000 in CEQA compliance activities that would have otherwise occurred.
The time and money saved could be even more for restoration projects in the Delta. “It’s quite possible, although largely speculative with only two cases at this point, but projects in the Delta being relatively large in size and a more complicated CEQA process, potentially, if they’re able to use this exemption, could be quite a big bigger savings for Delta projects,” said Pete McHugh, at the February meeting of the Delta Stewardship Council. He is the lead for the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Bay Delta Region’s Cutting the Green Tape team that helps administer the SERP exemption.
The statute expires on January 1, 2025, unless the legislature extends the program. Currently, a trailer bill is included with the budget package to make the program permanent; the bill will go into effect immediately upon the signing of the budget, provided the trailer bill is still included with the budget.
Staten Island Project
The Delta Stewardship Council meeting featured a presentation on one of two Delta projects to receive the SERP exemption, the Staten Island Wetland Restoration and Carbon Farming for Habitat, Climate, and Communities. The project is a multi-objective effort led by The Nature Conservancy to create a mosaic of seasonal and semi-permanent managed wetlands on Staten Island in the Delta.
The first phase of the project is funded through a Prop 1 grant from the Department of Fish and Wildlife and a grant from the Delta Conservancy’s Nature-Based Solutions Wetlands Restoration Funding Program. The Delta Conservancy was the lead agency for CEQA and determined the project was eligible for the SERP exemption.
The Delta Conservancy also determined that the project did not meet the council’s regulatory definition of a covered action. Typically, this type of project meets the definition and requires a certification of consistency with the Delta Plan. However, when a project is exempt from CEQA, it is not a covered action unless there are ‘unusual circumstances’ and council staff have determined no such circumstances exist.
The project will restore just under 1000 acres of wetlands on the southeast portion of the island to provide high-quality habitat, wildlife-friendly agriculture, and native plant cover. The wetlands will include habitat islands, deep water ponds, swales (ditches), and water control infrastructure.
Three wetland types with varying lengths of inundation are planned to provide roosting habitat and food sources for migratory birds, breeding shorebirds, waterfowl, and listed species. The project will produce benefits for fish as well. By draining the wetlands into adjacent channels, the project will boost phytoplankton production (or fish food) near the island to benefit native species such as Delta smelt, salmon, and steelhead.
The restoration effort will be part of a broader carbon farming project on the island to create and support vital habitats, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and halt and reverse subsidence. The project will serve as a demonstration project to help scale similar wetland and carbon farming projects across the Delta.
“We fundamentally see this project as a way to convert substandard farmland into an alternative use that addresses subsidence and provides critical habitat,” said Isabella González Potter, Associate Director of State External Affairs at The Nature Conservancy. “One of TNCs top objectives for this project is to help scale and accelerate similar projects across the Delta in support of the state’s biodiversity and climate goals. So, we’re seeing this as a demonstration project. And hopefully, we can replicate it in other areas.”
Construction of the first phase is expected to begin in mid-2025 and be complete in 2027.
