HomeMy WebLinkAbout17 - Harbor Regional Dredging Permit9 4��WP�gT CITY OF
NEWPORT BEACH
°�4 oaN'' City Council Staff Report
Agenda Item No. 17
February 12, 2013
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Public Works Department
David Webb, Public Works Director
949 - 644 -3311, dawebb @newportbeachca.gov
PREPARED BY: Chris Miller, Harbor Resources Manager
949 - 644 -3043, cmiller @newportbeachca.gov
APPROVED: � Q It �►n
Ili U
TITLE: Approve Budget Amendment for the 2014 Harbor Regional
General Dredging Permit
ABSTRACT:
The harbor's Regional General Permit 54 ( "RGP -541 expires in March 2014, and
planning has begun for the next iteration of the permit which will last five years. This
Budget Amendment will fund the selection of a consultant who will develop a "Sampling
and Analysis Plan," (i.e. a plan for sediment testing) and permit submittals — work which
will be completed during the remainder of this fiscal year.
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve Budget Amendment No. 13BA- 03-1 appropriating $100,000 from the
unappropriated Tidelands Fund reserves to Account No. 7231- C4401001 for
professional services related to the 2014 dredging Regional General Dredging Permit.
FUNDING REQUIREMENTS:
The Budget Amendment will be deposited into account 7231- C4401001 and will be
used to partially fund the initial stages of permit acquisition for the 2014 Regional
General Permit. The remainder of the permit work (agency permit negotiations and
sediment testing) will be funded in the FY 2013/14 budgeted program funds.
DISCUSSION:
The City's RGP -54 is a blanket dredging permit for the harbor issued by three regulatory
agencies: the Army Corps of Engineers, the California Coastal Commission and the
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Approve Budget Amendment for the 2014 Harbor Regional General Dredging Permit
February 12, 2013
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Regional Water Quality Control Board. The RGP -54 is designed to provide relief to the
pier permittees by simplifying the permit process for dredging. Otherwise, the permittee
would be forced to apply to the agencies on their own using the "Individual Permit"
process which is cumbersome and expensive. One of the major components of the
RGP -54 is that the City performs the sediment testing and also negotiates the terms of
the permit — a complicated and lengthy task_
The RGP -54 generally lasts for five years after which it must be renewed. In November
2011, the RGP -54 expired, and City was able to secure an "interim" permit in January
2013 with an expiration date of March 2014. (The interim permit is not a five year
permit because the City was able to use existing Lower Bay sediment data as a cost
saving measure. However, that data expires in March 2014.) Therefore, planning has
already begun for the next iteration of the permit commencing in 2014.
The Harbor Commission has been working with staff to develop a new RGP -54 which
would improve upon the existing permit. The public and the Harbor Commission have
been concerned over the various conditions in the existing permit, and are
recommending changes that would benefit the harbor community.
Below is a simplified table that explains the major conditions of the existing permit vs.
the City's proposed plan for the 2014 permit.
Existing RGP -54
2014 Proposed RGP -54
Annual harbor dredge limit: 20,000 cy
Annual harbor dredge limit: 150,000 c
Maximum dredge limit per address: 1 000 cy
Maximum dredge limit per address: 10,000 c
Dredge depth: -T + 1' over -dred e
Dredge depth: -10' + 1' over -dred e
Eel grass: No dredging within 15'
Eel rass: Implement "Newport Specific" plan
This Budget Amendment will fund a consultant who will begin immediately. In the last
few months of FY 2013, the consultant will perform the following tasks.
1. Prepare a Sampling and Analysis Plan ("SAP ") for the sediment characterization.
2. Present the SAP to the Dredge Material Management Team (all regulatory
agencies) for approval.
3. Prepare and submit permit applications for the RGP, and begin negotiating the
permit terms.
At the start of FY 2014, the consultant will begin sediment sampling and continue
negotiating the necessary permit conditions using FY 2013/14 budgeted program funds.
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Approve Budget Amendment for the 2014 Harbor Regional General Dredging Permit
February 12, 2013
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The estimated cost for these activities in FY 2014 will be $400,000. With this plan in
place, the new RGP -54 permit will be ready for use by April 2014.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
City staff recommends the City Council find the recommended actions in this staff report
are not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act ( "CEQA ") pursuant to
Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable
indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a
project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of
Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical
change to the environment, directly or indirectly.
NOTICING:
The agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of
the meeting at which the City Council considers the item).
Public Works Director
Attachment: A. Proposed Approach for 2014 RGP -54
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ATTACHMENT A
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Existing RGP -54
2014 Proposed RGP -54
Annual Maximum
20,000 cy
150,000 cy
Volume
Individual Project
1,000 cy
10,000 cy
Volume Limit
Maximum Dredge Depth
Maximum of -7 feet MLLW plus 1 foot overdredge;
Maximum of -10 feet MLLW plus 1 foot overdredge. (Based
deeper if can be supported by historical design
on authorized depth of harbor.)
depth
Sediment Testing
Periodic bay -wide characterization
Rolling, focused characterization in which the bay is divided
into units. Historical data would be used to guide sediment
testing.
Eelgrass
No Impacts allowed
Address impacts through City's bay -wide eelgrass program.
The eelgrass program would be independent of the RGP 54
permit and could be used for RGP 54 projects and non -RGP
54 projects.
Structures
No maintenance allowed
Repair and replacement of docks, bulkheads, and piles with
similar structures. Reconfiguration of existing docks to meet
modern standards and boater needs would be allowed.
Application Review
City submits files to agencies monthly and waits for
Tiered approach in which authority is delegated to the City to
agency verification (varies from 30 days to several
approve small projects without agency review; allow 30 -day
months)
review by agencies for medlum projects; await approval from
agencies for large projects.
Small: less than 1000 CY of dredging and /or repair of existing
structures
Medium: between 1000 CY of dredging and 5000 CY of
dredging and /or in -kind replacement of exlsting structures
Large: more than 5000 CY of dredging and /or replacement of
existing structures with expansion
Shading
Not applicable
Develop bay -wide program to track shading changes similar
to proposed eelgrass management program
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Existing RGP -54
2014 Proposed RGP -54
Water Quality
Basic monitoring required by Regional Water Quality
Tiered approach to monitoring in which monitoring is not
Monitoring
Control Board during the first individual dredging
required for small projects and basic monitoring frameworks
episodes of a given type of dredging. If the
are developed for medium and large projects
monitoring results are within the receiving water
limitations specified in the WQC, then subsequent
monitoring during individual projects will not be
required if the total dredging duration of a project
will be less than two days.
Applicable Users
Anyone within the permit area
Anyone within the permit area
Disposal
Beach nourishment, ocean disposal, upland disposal
Beach nourishment, ocean disposal, upland disposal or
or confined disposal facility
confined disposal facility
State Lands Commission
Valid through 2015
A new lease will be required for work within submerged
Dredging Lease
tidelands granted to the County of Orange
Fee Structure
Single fee of $1640 to the City and $77 to the Water
Tiered City fee structure based on project size category
Board
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City of Newport Beach NO. BA- 13BA -031
BUDGET AMENDMENT
2012 -13
EFFECT ON BUDGETARY FUND BALANCE:
Increase Revenue Estimates
X Increase Expenditure Appropriations AND
Transfer Budget Appropriations
SOURCE:
from existing budget appropriations
from additional estimated revenues
X from unappropriated fund balance
EXPLANATION:
This budget amendment is requested to provide for the following:
AMOUNT: $100,000.00
Increase in Budgetary Fund Balance
X Decrease in Budgetary Fund Balance
No effect on Budgetary Fund Balance
To increase expenditure appropriations for professional services related to the initial stages of permit acquisition for the
2014 Harbor Regional General Dredging Permit. The remainder of the permit work (agency permit negotiations and
sediment testing) will be funded in the FY13 -14 program budget.
ACCOUNTING ENTRY:
BUDGETARY FUND BALANCE
Fund Account
230 3605
REVENUE ESTIMATES (360 1)
Fund /Division Account
EXPENDITURE APPROPRIATIONS (3603)
Description
Tide & Submerged Land - Fund Balance
Description
Description
Division Number 7231 Tidelands - Capital
Account Number C4401001 Newport Harbor Dredging Permit RGP -54
Division Number
Account Number
Division
Number
Account
Number
Division
Number
Account
Number
Signed: W
Signed:
Approval: City
Amount
Debit Credit
$100,000.00
Automatic
$100,000.00
Date
?
Date
Signed:
City Council Approval: City Clerk Date