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WETLANDS PROJECT RECEIVES STATUTORY EXEMPTION FOR RESTORATION PROJECTS (SERP)

The Webb Tract Wetland Restoration Project received a Statutory Exemption for Restoration Projects (SERP) from California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) -- allowing project construction to start in 2026, as planned. Keeping on schedule is critical for the Webb Tract Wetlands Restoration Project because it is funded by the Delta Conservancy’s Nature-Based Solutions grant program, which requires planning and implementation to be completed within 5 years. This is challenging given the lead times typically needed for California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements.

To support such restoration projects, and streamline the environmental review process, CDFW administers several Cutting the Green Tape programs for restoration projects, including one that allows restoration projects a statutory exemption from CEQA. The State Legislature first authorized a pilot program to address the CEQA burden for some projects and in 2024, the State Legislature extended CDFW’s ability to review and approve a SERP that expedites the environmental review process significantly. It also saves money. CDFW has approved over 60 SERP applications, so far.

Metropolitan staff and the planning team applied for a SERP after consultation with CDFW’s Cutting Green Tape program staff. Metropolitan submitted many support letters with the application package including one from the Delta Counties Coalition. After a rigorous review process, CDFW approved the application. With this SERP, the Webb Tract wetlands project can move forward and seek the additional permits required.

FIELD NOTES: COLLECTING CARBON DATA

We Cannot Manage What We Do Not Measure

By growing rice and restoring wetlands, Metropolitan will stop and reverse subsidence, restore carbon to the land and potentially realize additional income to help maintain the levees and secure the integrity of the central Delta. One of the objectives of the Webb Tract Mosaic Nature-Based Solution grant is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, so it is essential to quantify the island's emissions, which requires specialized equipment. Working with HydroFocus, Inc., an expert in hydrologic modeling and quantification of greenhouse gas emissions and reductions, Metropolitan purchased two eddy covariance stations and installed one in the agricultural area where the wetlands will be restored, and the other where the agricultural land will be used to cultivate rice.

Quantifying and marketing carbon credits requires a rigorous verification process using the data that the eddy covariance instrumentation provides. The HydroFocus team started collecting data in fields where wetlands and rice will be planted in September and October 2024, respectively. One year of data is necessary to estimate the baseline greenhouse gas emissions for comparison with the project conditions (rice and wetlands).

Subsidence is caused by the oxidation of organic compounds in the peat soils on Webb Tract. About 8 billion cubic meters of peat soil formed under wetland conditions in the Delta during the last 7,000 years. Starting in the mid-1800s, the wetlands were drained, and the peat soils were farmed. Exposure to aerobic conditions resulted in the microbial oxidation of the organic matter and the peat soils. As a result about 66% of the original accumulated peat soil disappeared.

The oxidation of these peat soils results in disproportionately large annual agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, which HydroFocus estimated at about 11 metric tons of carbon dioxide per acre and about 50,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide for the entire island. For comparison, the EPA reported that a typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. Conversion of these disappearing soils to wetlands and rice will result in an estimated emissions reduction of about 30,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.

The eddy covariance instrumentation shown in the picture above is being used to quantify the baseline emissions and will measure the emissions reductions from the conversion to wetland and rice. This will enable the verification of the project’s carbon benefit and sale of carbon credits. HydroFocus preliminarily estimated that annual income from the sale of carbon credits at about $583,700.

Webb Tract Project Manager Malinda Stalvey is participating in the newly formed Carbon Working Group, a collaborative effort initiated by The Nature Conservancy and the Delta Conservancy. This group aims to identify and remove barriers to projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, advance carbon sequestration, and generate carbon credits in the Delta.