Permitting

Grette Associates provides permitting services for a range of projects and actions from single docks and restoration sites to major port redevelopment and public infrastructure projects. These include Corps 401 and Section 10 Permits, State Hydraulic Approvals, Water Quality Certifications, Shoreline and Critical Areas review as well as the supporting documents and characterizations that compile a complete permit application.

Our approach to aquatic environmental permitting is more than the simple "fill and file" approach. Rather we have developed a strategy where the permit approach is initiated in project design, presentation and permit coordination. The regulatory atmosphere today is constantly changing, offering new challenges that cannot be met by recycling past approaches. Every project we undertake at Grette Associates is analyzed to design the most efficient permitting package for the project purpose and location. Permit procedures and timelines are varied and increasingly sequenced between state, federal and local entities, so a thorough knowledge of the processes and the relationships between regulatory groups is essential to a timely and workable permit.

Featured Projects

Leach Creek Holding Basin Permit Evaluation, City of Tacoma Public Works Department: Grette Associates is providing permitting strategy and planning for dredging within a stormwater detention facility constructed from a 35-acre forested wetland. The Corps of Engineers and Department of Ecology are exercising jurisdiction over the stormwater facility since it was constructed from existing wetlands. Our approach is to mitigate on-site by providing habitat features to juvenile coho salmon within the facility.

Crystal Springs Creek Daylighting, City of Tacoma Public Works Department: Subsequent to receiving permits for stormwater system upgrades near Titlow Park, the City of Tacoma identified an opportunity to daylight a reach of Crystal Springs that is currently conveyed to the Narrows in a stormwater outfall. Grette Associates worked with the City and their engineering consultant to design an engineered stream reach between 6th Avenue and Titlow Lagoon. The project will resulted in a net increase of aquatic habitat within Titlow Park. 

Mercer Slough Fish Ladder Replacement Project, City of Bellevue: Grette Associates was responsible for obtaining State and Federal permits for replacement of a fish ladder at the mouth of Kelsey Creek, (Mercer Slough) in Bellevue Washington. The project qualified for a Fish Habitat Enhancement Project exemption from SEPA.