HomeMy WebLinkAbout27 - Newport Bay UpdateNEWPORT
Newport Beach City Council
AGENDA ITEM 27
c9�IFIDIX January 11, 1999 Council Meeting
TO: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: DAVE KIFF, ASSISTANT TO THE CITY MANAGER
SUBJECT: NEWPORT BAY UPDATE
SUMMARY:
This agenda item provides a brief update on several projects of interest to the
City of Newport Beach affecting Newport Bay, including new legislation relating to a
Bay maintenance annuity. The projects include two separate dredging efforts, two
studies supervised by the US Army Corps of Engineers, and more.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
(1) Receive and File Report;
(2) Authorize Mayor O'Neil to sign support letter for SB 141 (Johnson) relating
to the Upper Newport Bay annuity.
BACKGROUND:
Much of the City's aesthetic and commercial value is directly linked to Newport
Bay. Both Upper Newport Bay and the lower harbor provide a wide variety of
recreation, commerce, tourism, habitat, and other activities that enhance residents'
quality of life when managed appropriately.
Although the Bay itself is "owned" by the State of California, either by direct
possession (like the waters of the Upper Bay) or granted in trust to the City (like the
waters of the lower harbor), a variety of jurisdictions oversee the administration of
Newport Bay. These include:
• The Federal Government. The US Army Corps of Engineers (US ACE) is responsible for
managing the "federal channel" within the lower harbor. The US Department of Fish and
Wildlife (US F &W) regulates activities that might impact threatened and endangered species
in the Bay, including the Least Tern and the Clapper Rail. The Federal Clean Water Act
directs Federal departments (like the US Environmental Protection Agency [US EPA]) and
state agencies to comply with specific standards for water quality and recreational access.
• The State of California. The State "owns" 752 acres of Upper Newport Bay, assigning its
administrative obligations to the State Department of Fish and Game (DF&G). The State
Water Resources Control Board and its local enforcement arm, the Santa Ana Regional Water
Quality Control Board ( "Regional Board "), regulate any action within the Newport Bay
watershed (118 square miles) that might affect the Bay's water quality.
Newport Beach City Council
Agenda Item
• The County of Orange. The County manages the Upper Newport Bay Regional Park and
its new headquarters now under construction. The County's Coastal Facilities Section of the
Harbors, Beaches, and Parks Division of the Public Facilities and Resources Department
oversees the current sediment dredging project on behalf of the State. The Sheriff's
Department operates the Harbor Patrol that provides law enforcement in the Bay.
• The City of Newport Beach. The City administers areas designated as "tidelands" in and
around the Bay on behalf of the State under the direction of the State Lands Commission.
The City's Harbor Quality Affairs Citizens' Advisory Committee assists the City and its
residents in improving the Bay ecosystem.
Here are the specific projects in which the above - mentioned entities are
participating:
Dredging/Sediment Removal
• Unit III Basin
• Federal Channel
• Permanent Designation of LA -3 Spoils Dumpsite
Water Quality Impacts
• TMDL Development/ Monitoring
• Toxic Hot Spots
• Eelgrass Restoration Plan
Planning and Studies
• Corps' San Diego Creek Watershed Feasibility Study
• Corps' Upper Newport Bay Feasibility Study
• Department of Fish and Game Upper Newport Bay Management Plan
Capital Improvement/Other Projects
• Harbor Patrol HQ Reconstruction
• Upper Newport Bay Regional Park Interpretive Center Construction
• Ocean Sand Replenishment
These projects are described in greater detail and depicted graphically in
Attachment A ( "Newport Bay Projects "). The attachment also identifies the various
entities responsible for each project and the funding associated with the efforts. While
the City and its Bay partners received significant success in 1998, long -term funding for
some projects continues to be a challenge.
As a case in point, State Senator Ross Johnson (R- Irvine) and State Assembly
Member Marilyn Brewer (R- Irvine) were active in their 1998 support of a line -item
appropriation in the Fiscal Year 1998 -99 State Budget that fulfilled the State's obligation
to fully fund the Unit III dredging project. This $7.4 million expense for a dredging
project that was 10 years in the making required significant advocacy on their part and
on the part of the City and County.
To avoid this once -a- decade expense, Senator Johnson sponsored (with Assembly
Member Brewer's co- authorship) SB 1546 in 1998 to create an annuity that would
annually appropriate $400,0000 to the Department of Fish and Game for the Upper
Agenda Item _
Newport Bay Ecological Reserve Maintenance and Preservation Fund. Revenue in the
Fund could be used by the Department for "purposes relating to the maintenance and
preservation" of the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve. Despite active support by
the City, the County, and many friends of the Bay, in Summer 1998 the Assembly
Appropriations Committee amended SB 1546 to include only a one -time appropriation
of $200,000. Governor Wilson signed the bill in September 1998.
As the 1999 -2000 Legislature convened, Senator Johnson introduced new
legislation that would again attempt to create a $400,000 annuity for the Fund.
Johnson's SB 141 (co- authored by Assembly Member Brewer) was introduced on
January 4,1999, and will again require the City's support. Attachment B is a proposed
support letter for the Mayor's signature.
W_IGt� ITL��It1A
Attachment A - Graphic of Newport Bay Projects
Attachment B - Draft Support Letter for SB 141 (Johnson)
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Attachment B
January 12, 1999
Honorable Ross Johnson
Senate Minority Leader
State Capitol, Room 305
Sacramento, California 95814
RE: Support for Senate Bill 141
Dear Senator Johnson:
Agenda Item _
Page 5
On behalf of the City Council of the City of Newport Beach, please accept my sincere
thanks for your authorship of Senate Bill 141 relating to an Upper Newport Bay
"annuity." I am pleased to offer the City of Newport Beach's formal support for this
important legislation. As you are aware, SB 141 would provide an annual appropriation
of $400,000 for the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve Maintenance and
Preservation Fund for expenditure by the State Department of Fish and Game.
The restoration and preservation of the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve (a State
asset administered by the Department of Fish and Game) is a critical concern for the City
and its residents. We see the annual appropriation of revenue to this Fund as the key to
securing a long -term funding source for the maintenance and dredging of the Bay.
As you are aware, the State is currently funding a $7.4 million 1,000,000 cubic yard
sediment removal project today. All of the agencies involved in the Bay acknowledge
that a more cost - effective alternative would be to annually fund a smaller, maintenance
level dredge rather than a project the scope of the current once -in -a- decade effort.
Again, thank you for your sponsorship of SB 141. Please use this letter of support in any
manner in which you deem appropriate. Further, please do not hesitate to contact the
City when we can be of additional assistance to you with this bill. The City appreciates
your continued advocacy on behalf of the Bay.
Sincerely,
DENNIS D. O'NEIL
Mayor of Newport Beach
cc: Ken Emanuels, Legislative Advocate
Assembly Member Marilyn Brewer