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Terminal Four Wharf, Warehouse, and Piling Removal Project

November 2020

The Terminal Four Wharf, Warehouse, and Piling Removal Project is a collaborative effort involving the State Coastal Conservancy (SCC) and City/Port of Richmond. SCC is the proponent of the project and has been leading the design phase with ESA and other partners. The City owns the project site and will lead the demolition of the wharf in summer 2022 and along with East Bay Regional Park District plans to construct bay trail sections from the Richmond Bridge to Terminal Four in the coming years. 

Originally constructed in 1902 as a deep port, Terminal Four has been used for ships to dock and for storage and distribution of various goods (e.g., molasses and oil refinery products) as well as anchovy and herring fish processing. The 12-acre project site extends along an armored shoreline of Point San Pablo in the East Bay and hosts a large eelgrass bed, tidal waters and some of the most intact rocky intertidal habitats in the Bay. 

Currently in a state of severe disrepair with sections of decking, piles, and other components of the former warehouse regularly breaking off and either floating away or settling on the Bay floor the removal of it has long been a regional priority.  This deterioration process is expected to continue, and much of the remaining decking and the warehouse building are likely to eventually collapse into the Bay. This current condition poses a serious marine debris problem and navigation hazard to the area and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Coast Guard routinely retrieve and remove floating piles from the adjacent shipping lanes that originate from Terminal Four.

The project will remove large amounts of artificial fill, debris, and other sources of contamination. Additionally, 2,700 tons of debris that has already fallen to the bay floor will be taken out thereby enhancing a degraded area of shoreline and the associated intertidal and subtidal habitats while enabling the enhancement and protection of existing eelgrass beds. All of these actions will improve spawning conditions for Pacific herring and provide healthier native shoreline and bay conditions for many other species from oysters to crabs to salmon.

The project will also implement goals established by the State Coastal Conservancy and other partners in the San Francisco Subtidal Habitat Goals Report, a non-regulatory, 50-year conservation plan that provides guidance and recommendations on how to move forward with science-based subtidal research, protection, and restoration of subtidal habitats in the San Francisco Bay Estuary.

The San Francisco Bay Joint Venture is in the process of adopting this project. For more information on the SFBJV project adoption process visit our website. For more information on the project contact Marilyn Latta - Marilyn.Latta@scc.ca.gov.

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