The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About07 - Lower Newport Bay Dredging ProjectCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT Agenda Item No. 7 June 24, 2008 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: City Manager's Office Dave Kiff, Assistant City Manager 9491644 -3002 or dkiff @city.newport- beach.ca.us SUBJECT: Resolution 2008 -_ Relating to Funding a Lower Newport Bay Dredging Project ISSUE: Should the City commit to a certain amount of funds for a Lower Newport Bay dredging project to encourage the US Army Corps of Engineers to complete its obligation to dredge the LNB? RECOMMENDATION: 1. Adopt Resolution 2008 -_ relating to funding a Lower Newport Bay (LNB) dredging project. 2. Direct that the Resolution be transmitted to the Orange County congressional delegation, to the City's advocates in Washington D.C., and to Colonel Magness of the US Army Corps of Engineers, LA District. DISCUSSION: Lower Newport Bay is a commercial and recreational harbor serving about 10,000 vessels, a US Coast Guard facility, an Orange County Sheriffs Harbor Patrol facility that covers two other harbors (Dana Point and Huntington), small shipbuilding, and more. The Harbor includes a Federal Navigational Channel that runs from the Newport Harbor entrance jetties to the area near where Pacific Coast Highway and SR -55 (Newport Boulevard) meet the Harbor (see Diagram 1). The channel and nearby waterways receive sediment from a 154 - square mile upstream watershed that includes the communities of Irvine, Lake Forest, Tustin, Orange, Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, and Newport Beach. The City of Newport Beach and our upstream partners, which include the cities listed along with the County of Orange, the Irvine Ranch Water District, and others, continue to expend, on an annual basis, hundreds of thousands of dollars in sediment management projects to keep the sediment where it should be. More than $145,000,000 has been spent in this watershed over the last 30 years to control sediment. However, some sediment continues to reach the Upper and Lower Newport Bays. Sedimentation in the Lower Bay is a significant problem for navigation and water quality, but primarily for navigation. Portions of Lower Bay have not been dredged to design depth in 70 -80 years (since the Harbor's creation). Other portions have been dredged in small bits and pieces, in amounts of $2-4 million per job. As a result, large portions of the Bay cannot accommodate normal boats with normal drafts except at higher tides. Dock damage is prevalent, too (see photo below). Larger boats with more significant drafts are almost entirely unable to use the Harbor (see Diagram 2). Resolution Relating to LNB Funding June 24, 2008 Page 2 Lower Newport Bay, March 4, 2008 The Lower Bay's navigational channels have been an ongoing — yet unfunded — obligation of the Federal government via the Corps. Except for brief emergency dredging episodes, the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) continues to provide no funding for this Federal obligation. Our attempts to secure funding via Congressional appropriations have been unsuccessful as well. We believe that, to properly maintain the Federal Navigational Channel and the Harbor Entrance Jetties, about 60,000 cubic yards of material should be removed annually. At current prices ($11 /yd3), this is a total cost of $660,000 per year. Using a 25 -year timeframe, that equates to $16,500,000 in Federal obligations in today's dollars. In recent months, the City has proposed that the Federal government de- authorize the Federal Navigational Channel (and jetties) as a Federal project, thus assigning the responsibility to the City of Newport Beach and its partners provided that the Federal government dredge the full Lower Bay to design depth at a proposed cost of roughly $12 -14 milion (roughly 1.09 million cubic yards). The City calls this the "One and Done" plan. This action would result in one of the Corps' many authorized O &M projects going off the Corps' responsibility list and may therefore serve as a model for the Corps to prioritize its O &M budget 10, 20, and 30 years into the future. Such a deauthorization (and appropriation) requires a Congressional act (to deauthorize) combined with an appropriation within the Energy and Water Resources appropriations bill. The City's legislative advocate in Washington D.C., Mr. Jim Crum of Van Scoyoc and Associates, has asked our local Members of Congress and our US Senators for help in accomplishing this language as well as implementing "One and Done." The de- authorization proposal is as follows LOWER NEWPORT BAY (NEWPORT HARBOR) FEDERAL DEAUTHORIZATION REQUEST Proposal Summary: De- authorize, as a Federal (US Army Corps of Engineers or °Corps) Operations and Maintenance ( "O &M') responsibility, the navigational channel and jetties in Lower Newport Bay (Newport Harbor) such that the future maintenance of these facilities be the ongoing obligation of the City of Newport Beach and related partners. De- authorization and ongoing O &M would be accepted by the City of Newport Beach only in the event that that the Corps or its contractor dredge the Harbor to its design depth (an approximate $12 -14 million one -time cost). Even with "One and Done," there still is a likelihood that the Corps will not be able to do a Lower Newport Bay project without some incentive on the City's part. This incentive can take various forms — but one possibility is that the City propose matching some of the Federal dollars that the Corps and Congress might put forth. Resolution Relating to LNB Funding June 24, 2008 Page 3 This Agenda Item asks the City to adopt a resolution committing a certain amount of funds to hold up as an offer should the Congress and Corps decide to do an LNB Dredging Project. Environmental Review: The City Council's approval of this Agenda Item does not require environmental review. Public Notice: This agenda item may be noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the public meeting at which the City Council considers the item). Submitted by: 1`Ja.se. n (l1n Dave Kiff Assistant City Manager Attachments: Resolution 2008 - Diagrams 1 and 2 Resolution Relating to LNB Funding June 24, 2008 Page 4 RESOLUTION 2008- A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH RELATING TO PARTICIPATING IN THE FUNDING OF A LOWER NEWPORT BAY DREDGING PROJECT WHEREAS, the City of Newport Beach has long been interested in the viability of Lower Newport Bay ( "LNB ") as an active, productive recreational and light commercial harbor; and WHEREAS, the US Army Corps of Engineers and the US Government have the obligation and responsibility to maintain a Federal Navigational Channel as well as the distance between project lines in the LNB for effective navigation and commerce; WHEREAS, shoaling in the LNB has increased significantly over the past several years, leaving portions of the LNB non - navigable and keeping larger vessels from being able to enter the harbor during many tidal cycles; and WHEREAS, in recent years, recreational harbors like LNB have not merited a high enough funding ranking from the US Army Corps of Engineers, yet the obligation remains the federal government's to maintain LNB to the extent required; and WHEREAS, neither the United States Congress nor the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has not appropriated funds to dredge and otherwise maintain LNB to the extent required; and WHEREAS, the City believes that it should continue to challenge the Corps and Congress to meet its obligations, in part by, for the first time ever, resolving to set -aside funds to assist in an LNB Dredging Project in spite of the fact that this remains an obligation of the federal government that should be funded entirely by the federal government; and WHEREAS, the City desires to encourage and entice the US Government to begin and complete a large -scale LNB dredging project in the amount of at least $12 -14 million; now, therefore be it RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Newport Beach that it hereby agrees that it shall amend the City's operating budget by up to $_ million in any fiscal year in which the US Army Corps of Engineers can begin a large -scale LNB Dredging Project that meets the needs of the LNB and the community. ADOPTED this 24th day of June, 2008. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk