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Home My WebLink AboutS18 - Confined Aquatic Disposal Site in Newport HarborCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT Agenda Item No. Sib November 12, 2008 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: City Manager's Office Dave Kiff, Assistant City Manager, (949) 644 -3002 dkiff(a)city. newport-beach.ca. us Chris Miller, Harbor Resources Manager, (949) 644 -3043 cmillera -city. newport-beach.ca. us SUBJECT: Professional Services Agreement for the Preparation of a Conceptual Design Plan for a Confined Aquatic Disposal Site in Newport Harbor ISSUE: Should the City contract with Anchor Environmental to conduct a conceptual design plan for a Confined Aquatic Disposal site or other disposal options for contaminated sediments in Newport Harbor? RECOMMENDATION: 1.. Authorize the City Manager and City Attorney to write and approve a standard agreement with Anchor Environmental to investigate the disposal options for contaminated sediments in Newport Harbor, and; 2. Adopt Budget Amendment #BA -_ taking $25,000 in unappropriated General Fund reserves and assign these funds to Capital Improvement Project #7014 - C4402001 (Newport Harbor Dredging Project). DISCUSSION: In an effort to dredge the Lower Bay, the City is currently performing comprehensive sediment analyses of the entire harbor. These tests are critical because they will help determine the disposal locations of the sediment - whether at the federally approved disposal site 4.5 miles off shore (LA -3) or other more costly aquatic or land side disposal options. Because it is likely that at least some of the sediment will be prohibited from LA -3 disposal, the City is exploring the viability of alternate disposal options for this contaminated material. One such option, a Confined Aquatic Disposal (CAD) site, is a possible solution. With a CAD site, a large pit is created in the harbor into which the PSA for CAD Conceptual Design Plan November 12, 2008 Page 2 material is placed. Then, a layer of clean sand is laid over the contaminated material therefore forming a permanent cap that will forever be sealed. This type of solution has been tested and approved by the regulatory agencies in other harbors, so it may be an alternative to consider for Newport's needs. The City believes that most of the contaminated material in the harbor is located in the Anchorage Area near the eastern tip of Lido Isle and in the Newport Channel between Via Lido Soud and the Balboa Peninsula. (See Exhibit 1 — purple and blue shaded areas.) Anchor Environmental is proposing to develop a conceptual design for CAD disposal for the sediments in Newport Harbor. Some options that will be explored are the possibility of building a CAD site in Newport Harbor, or conversely, investigating the use of an existing CAD site in Long Beach or other locations. This proposal is based on Anchor's expertise in successfully negotiating agency approval for a CAD site in Port Hueneme to accommodate more than 300,000 cubic yards of material. The City also feels that Anchor's experience with similar CAD projects, as well as their in -depth knowledge of Newport Harbor via several key projects in the area (US Army Corps of Engineers Lower Newport Bay, Rhine Channel Feasibility Study, Balboa Marina, Lido Anchorage, DeAnza Bayside Marina, Blurock Property, and more) provides an ideal partnership to provide this conceptual design project. Environmental Review: The approval of the Professional Services Agreement and the proposal to develop a conceptual design plan for a CAD site are not projects subject to CEQA and do not require environmental review. CEQA review will be done on the actual dredging project. Public Notice: This agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the public meetings at which the City Council considers the item). Fiscal Impact: The extent of the technical problems with potential sediment contamination was not anticipated at the time we presented the FY 2008 -09 budget and Capital Improvement Program (CIP). An additional $25,000 is required from the unappropriated General Fund reserve to account CIP #7014- C4402001. Prepared by: Submitted by: )bpm- 64 bl � Chris Miller, Harbor Resources Manager Dave 'ff, Assistant City Manager Attachments: Exhibit 1: Sediment Management Map Exhibit 2: Anchor Environmental Proposal Budget Amendment #BA- PSA for CAD Conceptual Design Plan November 12, 2008 Page 3 Exhibit 1 Sediment Management Map N wE s 0 025 05 tNks Nev ort Harbor Dredging Areas 2sed In RGP -5e passed during Federal Charnel Tier IV wheat lased. 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Viculdr re blSexumulatan teeing if amMllpaa test passes I MIS was a WgMW prgect area raw cnetaCleneeeon wouk be nli -,Q PSA for CAD Conceptual Design Plan November 12, 2008 Page a Exhibit 2 Anchor Environmental Proposal November 7, 2008 Mr. Chris Miller Manager, Harbor Resources City of Newport Beach Harbor Resources Division 829 Harbor Island Drive Newport beach, CA 92660 RE: PROPOSAL TO CONDUCT A CONCEPTUAL DESIGN PLAN FOR A CONFINED AQUATIC DISPOSAL SITE IN NEWPORT HARBOR Dear Chris: As a follow up to our previous conversations, we are honored to provide this brief proposal for developing a conceptual design plan to assist the City with Harbor -wide sediment management issues. Specifically, our proposal addresses the potential development of a confined aquatic disposal (CAD) cell as a comprehensive solution to the Harbor -wide contaminated sediment problem that has plagued the City for almost a decade. In addition to this evaluation, we will also evaluate alternate disposal locations and methods that may be available to the City within the region through partnerships with the USACE or other cities and counties. The following briefly describes our understanding of the current situation as well as an overview of our proposed approach. Through our extensive work in and around Newport Harbor (Corps Lower Newport Bay, Rhine Channel Feasibility Study, Balboa Marina, Lido Anchorage, DeAnza Bayside Marina, Blurock Property, etc.), we are intimately familiar with the contaminated sediment issues that the City is currently facing. Also, because of our recent work on the Contaminated Sediments Task Force Long -Term Management Strategy and Los Angeles Regional Dredged Materials Management Plan documents, we are very familiar with the limited regional disposal options for contaminated sediments in southern California. Because of our unique relationships in the region, we have been successful in negotiating similar partnerships with other entities. For example, we are currently in the process of constructing a large CAD site in Port Hueneme for use by the Oxnard Harbor District, U.S. Navy and Army Corps of Engineers to accommodate more than 300,000 yards of contaminated sediment (see attached conceptual design plan). This project will combine sediment disposal with a large beach nourishment component to provide, among other things, recreational benefits to the local beaches through sand nourishment. We PSA for CAD Conceptual Design Plan November 12, 2008 Page 5 propose that the City consider a similar approach for Newport Harbor, taking into consideration the City's needs for eelgrass habitat mitigation, sensitive local resources and site conditions. The first step in this process would be to develop a conceptual design document similar to the attached example from Port Hueneme to identify the opportunities and constraints of such an approach for the Harbor, as well as other, regional options for sediment disposal and/or reuse. As you remember, this concept was originally proposed about three years ago as part of the Rhine Channel Feasibility Study, and there are components of that original concept that can assist in developing a revised design plan. Using the Port Hueneme project as a recently successful model (it was approved a few months ago by the CCC for development and will begin construction in December); we propose to take the following steps to develop a conceptual design plan for a Newport CAD site. • Meet with the City officials to compile a map of all known information regarding contaminated sediment volumes, locations, and depths. • Meet with the Corps and other sources of contaminated sediments to review the concept and evaluate suitability of individual data sets (e.g., measure uncertainty). • Meet with Corps Navigation Branch managers to identify potential funding options for project construction. • Evaluate biological resources distribution in the Harbor as well as any physical constraints to construction activities. • Prepare conceptual level engineering drawings showing probable location(s) of CAD cell(s) and mass balance of sediment volumes dredged vs. filled. • Prepare conceptual level cost estimate and potential cost - sharing opportunities. • Evaluate potential permitting strategies. • Prepare probable schedule for completion. • Prepare written conceptual design plan for distribution and discussion with potentially responsible parties, permitting agencies and concerned residents. In addition to the above tasks, we will also consider other disposal options within the region by exploring partnering relationships with other entities facing similar challenges. One such entity is the City of Long Beach, where we are working to develop a CAD site within the inner harbor area for disposing of contaminated sediments. It is possible that the City of Newport Beach could partner with them by sharing development costs for their CAD facility in return for the opportunity to place sediments within the site. Some of the specific tasks that we would target to achieve this objective include the following: • Conduct a simple cost - benefit and risk analysis of creating a new CAD site within Newport Harbor vs. assisting the City of Long Beach with their program. • Explore early coordination opportunities with the City of Long Beach for joint CAD disposal. • Explore coordination opportunities with the USACE as they relate to either a CAD site within Newport Harbor or Long Beach. • Explore coordination opportunities within either the Port of Los Angeles or Port of Long Beach for use of one of their planned future fill sites. • Explore private and public funding opportunities for sediment management within the region. PSA for CAD Conceptual Design Plan November 12, 2008 Page 6 • Consider and compare relative costs and potential impacts associated with CAD disposal within Newport Harbor compared to other regional disposal alternatives such as upland landfills. We estimate that it would take approximately three months to complete the above steps at a cost of not more than $25,000. This estimate assumes that no additional field data would be required or conducted as part of the process and we would propose a time and materials contract with a not to exceed ceiling. That way, if the work could be completed for less money, it would not be charged to the City. We appreciate the opportunity to prepare this proposal and welcome additional discussion on this process. We feel that our team is uniquely qualified to assist the City with this process given the regulatory background of our staff, our key agency contacts, and more importantly, our recent local experience developing this exact same process for an adjacent southern California harbor. We look forward to future discussions with you and your staff. Sincerely, Anchor Environmental CA L.P. <S Q�L' Steve Cappellino Partner, California Operations