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Humboldt Bay Harbor District hosts public meetings this week; Comments solicited for Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Marine Terminal project environmental review

The Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District is hosting two scoping meetings this week on the Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Marine Terminal Project. Those meetings, along with a public comment period lasting through Dec. 7, will offer community members a chance to inform the project’s Draft Environmental Impact Report and CEQA process.

The first of those meetings takes place at the Eureka Veterans Memorial Hall located at 1018 H Street in Eureka at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The second will be held at the Samoa Cookhouse at 908 Vance Avenue on the Samoa Peninsula at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both meetings will provide an opportunity to make brief in-person comments. Attendees can observe the proceedings virtually, though comments are restricted to in-person input.

“The thing that we’re really looking for here is to hear from people,” Harbor District Executive Director Chris Mikkelsen told the Times-Standard Monday afternoon. “I think we cannot forget that, we, the Harbor District, are government, and we act in the public trust, so it’s our first order of business to hear from the public, and so we invite them out to be part of that process.”

Mikkelsen told the Times-Standard that public comments would become enshrined in the eventual DEIR, scheduled to come as early as spring of 2027.

“It allows us to inform the community or those in attendance about the proposed project and really give an update on the areas that have environmental effects or that have potential impacts to the environment and what studies should be conducted to address that,” Mikkelsen said.

Humboldt Waterkeeper is urging residents to attend the meetings online or in-person, familiarize themselves with the project as it’s currently envisioned and make written comment by 5 p.m. Dec. 7. To that end, the local nonprofit aimed at protecting water quality has prepared an informative summary of the project available at https://tinyurl.com/n7xtkb9b.

“There have been several years of meetings behind closed doors to discuss the project, learn about what’s being proposed and to express concerns,” Humboldt Waterkeeper Executive Director Jennifer Kalt told the Times-Standard Monday morning. “And this is the first time the public has had a chance to do that, so it’s really important for people to get familiar with the project, which is why we developed the summary of the project, so people know what’s being proposed and understand what the potential impacts would be, so that they can make informed comments about what needs to be studied.”

Kalt, who in her capacity as director, serves on four advisory committees for the project, noted that she shares a number of concerns with other members of the community regarding the project — which has grown and changed significantly since 2023 when a public comment period had previously been opened.

“It’s quite a bit larger, and there’s a lot more specifics than were included in 2023,” Kalt said.

People, should show up and give input, Kalt said, on making sure impacts to the bay — including areas like aquaculture that could be adversely affected by increased vessel traffic.

“The top line ones (for me) are the impacts to Tuluwat from dredging over 100 acres adjacent to for the temporary wet storage,” Kalt said, “and then also dredging the whole area on the other side of the peninsula, on the other side of the bay. There’s going to be a huge amount of dredging, 6 million cubic yards, which, for most people, that doesn’t mean anything, but that’s six times what the Army Corps dredges out of the navigational channels every year.

“The project now has increased in size to the point where it’s proposing pile driving 5,000 175 to 200-foot-long steel pipes, 36 inches in diameter. It would bring in a million cubic yards of fill to raise the elevation of the site to accommodate sea level rise, and that would be to, I think, 14 to 20 feet above sea level, is what they’re saying. … Now what they’re proposing is a 1.2-mile-long, four-foot-thick stone wall that would be 10 feet above the mean tide line.”

Online attendees can observe each meeting via Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/ using the meeting ID 691 793 4402 and passcode 351214. Public comments will only we accepted in person.

Written comments can be submitted by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by U.S. mail sent to: Chris Mikkelsen, Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District, P.O. Box 1030, Eureka, California 95502-1030. The comment period ends Dec. 7 at 5 p.m.

Recreational Dungeness Crab Fishing Begins in Most Areas Nov. 7 with Trap Restrictions, Commercial Season Delayed

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has announced that the recreational Dungeness crab season will open under trap restrictions beginning November 7, 2026, except where it has been delayed due to domoic acid (from Cape Mendocino to the Ten Mile State Marine Reserve). The California Department of Public Health is warning consumers not to eat any part of sport-harvested Dungeness crab from Cape Mendocino south to Ten-Mile State Marine Reserve due to dangerous levels of domoic acid.

Domoic acid is a potent neurotoxin produced by Pseudo-nitzschia, a naturally occurring single-celled, marine alga under certain ocean conditions. Domoic acid can accumulate in shellfish, other invertebrates and sometimes fish without the organism becoming ill themselves. At low levels, domoic acid exposure can cause nausea, diarrhea and dizziness in humans. At higher levels, it can cause persistent short-term memory loss, seizures and can in some cases be fatal.

To reduce your chances of domoic acid exposure:

Follow the state's latest Marine Biotoxin Quarantines and Health Advisories
Check out these Safety Tips for Cooking and Cleaning Dungeness Crabs

On October 30, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife delayed the opening of the commercial Dungeness crab season from the California/Oregon border to Point Conception until at least January 1, 2027. The commercial season delay and recreational trap restriction is required due to the number of humpback whale entanglements during the 2026 calendar year. In aerial surveys done in mid-October over fishing areas 2 and 3, more than 70 humpback whales were spotted between Pigeon Point and Cape Mendocino.

(VIDEO) Wiyot Tribe’s ‘Wigi Past Present Future Story’ Explores How Humboldt Bay Port Development Will Impact Tuluwat Island and Cultural Practices

As the Humboldt Bay Harbor District continues to gather public feedback for the proposed Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Marine Terminal Project on the Samoa Peninsula, the Wiyot Tribe is urging residents to carefully consider the full scope of environmental impacts associated with port development.

Last week, the Wiyot Tribe published a video, “Wigi Past Present Future Story,” which highlights the cultural significance of Humboldt Bay and Tuluwat Island, the Tribe’s spiritual center of the universe, and warns that the offshore wind development could “significantly impact Wiyot ceremony” and “alter the ecology of the bay.”

“Although the terminal development is proposed as a singular project, it is tied to the larger offshore wind development plan for the North Coast,” according to a statement shared with the Outpost by Wiyot Tribal Administrator Michelle Vassel. “The proposed port development must be looked at wholly and in its entirety, to gauge the impacts of the port and the impacts various industries will have on Wigi. Our community must understand the scope of impacts, in their entirety.”

In the video, an unseen Wiyot elder speaks to a young man about an industrial terminal coming to Humboldt Bay “that could change everything.” Looking out over a computer-generated view of the Samoa Peninsula from Tuluwat at sunrise, the elder warns, “It is a fragile thing, this bay. One small shell is a loose thread, child. You pull it, and the whole tapestry comes undone.”

The scene dims, and several enormous wind turbines slowly spin at the future project site, glowing red in the nighttime fog. The elder explains that “balance matters,” and asserts that “clean energy in the wrong place can take more than it gives.”

“Here, it could unravel the bay, the wetlands and people who depend on them,” the elder says. “But fortunately, things could still change. Let’s tear down these giants and restore the bay.”

Keep Reading

Watch the video: Wigi Past Present Future Story

(VIDEO) HUMBOLDT OUTDOORS: Humboldt’s Bay’s Decaying Dikes Are at a Breaking Point

When the dikes around Humboldt Bay were built in the late 1800s, engineers had no way of knowing Humboldt County’s shoreline would rise 18 inches over the next 130 years — the fastest rate of sea level rise on the West Coast. Rising sea levels and wave-driven erosion have weakened the earthen dikes over the past century, causing breaches in some areas and increasing the risk of future failures.

In today’s episode of Humboldt Outdoors, local documentarian Ray Olson speaks with two local experts — Jen Kalt, executive director of the Humboldt Waterkeeper, and Aldaron Laird, a retired sea level rise planner — about Humboldt Bay’s decaying dikes and concerns surrounding sea level rise and the incoming King Tides.

“They built them high enough so that the king tides of 1890 wouldn’t overtop them and breach the dikes,” Laird explains in the video above. “So they built them probably a foot or so higher than the highest king tide [of the time]. Adding the subsidence of about 10 inches and the sea level rise of about eight, the dikes now are about a foot and a half lower in relationship to king tide than they were when they were built in the 1890s. They’re much more vulnerable.”

To learn more about the history of Humboldt Bay’s dikes, check out the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwONh1hMMoI&source_ve_path=OTY3MTQ&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Flostcoastoutpost.com%2F

Harbor district hopefuls discuss sea-level rise, offshore terminal impacts

The three contenders for the Division 4 seat on the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District, Craig Benson, Christopher Honar and Jane Madsen, offered different takes on environmental impacts, sea‑level rise and other issues during a forum hosted by the Humboldt Association of Realtors on Thursday evening. Their remarks showed distinct priorities, yet all three pointed to the same underlying concern: how future development around the bay will affect the communities that live alongside it.

Heavy‑lift terminal

The candidates were asked about the environmental review process for the heavy-lift terminal and what issues they anticipate and how to mitigate them.

Jane Madsen opened the discussion with a warning about noise, proximity, and dredging. Her comments focused on the scale of construction and the closeness of homes to the proposed terminal.

“There are two issues that stood out to me. The first one is noise during construction and during the operation of this project; there are homes less than 100 feet from this site. Nowhere else in the world is there a facility like this so close to where people live. We could try a sound wall, but they’re really ugly, and they don’t work. The only mitigation that makes sense to me would be to operate the plant and the construction 16 hours a day. That’s two eight-hour shifts. Let us sleep, for crying out loud,” said Madsen. “The second one that bothers me is the amount of sand and silt this project is going to generate during dredging. I heard a presentation by Rachel Tolliver from Moffatt and Nichol, the company currently contracted to design the facility; she estimated dredging of 5.6 million cubic yards of material. … She said that approximately 900,000 cubic yards could be a problem because of dioxins that are in the sand, not in the whole site, just in a part of it.”

Honar followed with a more technical breakdown, framing the terminal as a project that demands enforceable environmental protections and long‑term monitoring.

“I believe a healthy bay and economic prosperity go hand in hand. For this terminal, I anticipate three main areas of environmental concern. Dredging new wharves, storing large structures — all these things could affect water quality, wetlands, fish, the marine mammals, and I’ll push for designs that avoid sensitive habitat first, minimize the dredging impacts, and use sediment testing, safe material handling techniques, and construction timing that protects the wildlife,” said Honar. “Construction and everyday operations could bring dust, diesel emissions, noise, traffic, and intrusive lighting, and I’ll advocate for electric equipment and vessel shore power where feasible, effective dust and stormwater controls, shielded lighting, and enforceable noise limits. We also need to investigate and safely manage any contamination remaining from past industrial uses.”

Benson wrapped up the discussion by underscoring the CEQA framework and the need to nail down the actual impacts before talking about how to address them.