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Study Session HANDOUT �° k-0
01 -22 -2013 Item # SS2
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Nancy Gardner
\4ayor, City of Newport Beach
3300 Newport Boulevard
Post Office Box 1768
Newport Beach, California 92658 -8915
Dear Mayor Gardner:
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE
Southwest Region
501 West Ocean Boulevard, Suite 4200
Long Beach, California 90802 -4213
NOV 2 9 _: .
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Gopie Sent To:
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City Manager
✓city Attorney
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Thank you for your letter regarding the City of Newport Beach's (City) Eelgrass
Management Plan (Plan). NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, in cooperation
with the California Department of Fish and Game and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
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developed the Southern California Eelgrass Mitigation Policy (SCEMP) to standardize
and maintain a consistent policy regarding mitigating adverse impacts to eelgrass
resources. Our overarching eelgrass conservation goal is no net loss of eelgrass habitat
and associated functions We recognize that alternative approaches to SCEMP may meet
that goat. To that end, we worked with the City to develop an alternative eelgrass
protection strategy for minor maintenance dredging and in -kind dock replacement
projects.
We generally support the approach identified in the City's Plan. However, in order to
conclude that the City's Plan meets our eelgrass conservation goals, we need to better
understand how it would be implemented and enforced by other agencies. Specific
details regarding implementation have yet to be resolved with the City and other resource
agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, California Department of Fish
and Game, Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board, and the California Coastal
Commission. We previously recommended to City staff that including the Plan as part of
a permit action (e.g., Regional General Pen-nit) may facilitate final review and decision -
making on the Plan. We believe that this would be an appropriate way of moving the
Plan forward. In the interim, we will request an interagency meeting to discuss
appropriate methods for implementing the Plan and any remaining agency concerns.
Please note that the previous survey period contained in the Plan is from 2009 /2010. The
Plan also indicates that another survey was to be conducted in 2011/2012. Implementing
the Plan will depend on the results of an updated survey determining the status of
eelgrass in the shallow water areas. As identified in die Plan, eelgrass acreage in the
shallow water areas determines the appropriate management actions to take. This
information is particularly important in light of the cumulative eelgrass impacts that
recently occurred in Newport Bay from other dredging projects, such as the Federal
maintenance dredging project and Linda Isle/Harbor Island project.
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Study Session HANDOUT
01 -22 -2013 Item # SS2
We appreciate the efforts of the City to address eelgrass conservation in a more holistic,
ecosystem -based approach and look forward to continued cooperation in this endeavor.
If you have any questions regarding our comments, please contact Bryant Chesney at
(562) 980 -4037 or Bryant.Chesneyrnoaa.gov.
Sincerely,
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�.� Rodney R. McInnis
Regional Administrator