Environmental Stewardship
The District 5 Environmental Stewardship Branch provides dedicated environmental support services to Non-Capital programs such as:
- Local Assistance
- Maintenance
- Encroachment Permits
- Transportation Planning
- Coast Highway Management Plan
In addition to the Non-Capital programs, services are also given to Maintenance Design, Storm Damage, and Emergency projects in the Capital Program.
The environmental support services include environmental studies in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and various Federal and State resource protection regulations (e.g. Clean Water Act, Historic Preservation Act, Endangered Species Act, California Coastal Act, California Streambed Alteration Agreements). The District 5 Environmental Planning Branch also provides environmental support to address critical issues such as anadromous fish passage barriers in highway culverts, management strategies for populations of special status species within the highway right of way, and managing the historic features associated with the Carmel to San Simeon Highway Historic District.
For more information on environmental stewardship programs can be found at the Division of Environmental Analysis.
Environmental Guidance and Templates (.doc)
Natural Environment Study (minimal impacts)
Quality Control and Assurance for Biological Reports
Elkhorn Slough Early Mitigation Partnership
The Elkhorn Slough Early Mitigation Partnership is a Caltrans-sponsored interagency effort to provide early mitigation for a series of future transportation improvement projects within the Elkhorn Slough Watershed. This project seeks to help address regional scale conservation in a manner that also can help facilitate project delivery by developing a process for identifying funding strategies and implementing conservation agreements earlier than would be possible through existing traditional channels.
Additional information is available in article The Elkhorn Slough Early Mitigation Partnership: A Collaborative Approach to Meeting Regional Transportation Needs and Conservation Objectives by Gary Ruggerone.
Contact
Cathy Stettler, Associate Environmental Planner
(805) 549-3797
cathy_stettler@dot.ca.gov