TO: HARBOR COMMISSION
FROM: STEPHEN PROUD, WATERFRONT & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
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DISCUSSION REGARDING THE DREDGING OF KING HARBOR
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RECOMMENDATION
Receive and file staff presentation on dredging process for King Harbor.
BACKGROUND
Over the past 30 years, King Harbor has been dredged on two occasions. The first dredging was done by the City in 1989 to address significant shoaling that occurred in the aftermath of the 1988 storm; and the second dredging was conducted by the City in the Winter/Spring of 2005 (January - March). The primary reason the Harbor requires dredging is the natural flow of beach sand is from north to south and as the sand moves southward it migrates through the breakwater and into the Harbor. The breakwater, designed by the Army Corps of Engineers to absorb wave action, is porous and allows significant amounts of sand into the Harbor where it builds up at various locations.
The Harbor is currently experiencing significant shoaling that requires maintenance dredging to maintain navigability and to ensure boater safety. The shoaling is most evident along the inside length of the main breakwater for the Harbor and some additional shoaling is occurring at the entrance to Basin III.
The City hired Noble Consultants to assist with the evaluation, planning, and permit acquisition for the King Harbor Maintenance Dredging Project. Initially, the City was looking to partner with the Army Corps of Engineers (“ACOE”) on portions of the harbor dredging, as the ACOE may need to dredge portions of the harbor to conduct repairs to the main breakwater. While we remain optimistic that the City may be able to partner with the ACOE on their breakwater repair project, no firm commitments have been made by the ACOE at this time and the timeline for the breakwater repairs are uncertain. Consequently, the City is moving the King Harbor Maintenance Dredging Project forward as a stand-alone project.
To date, the City prepared and presented the Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP) outlining sediment sampling results and proposed sediment placement locations on March 25, 2020 to the Southern California Dredged Material Management Team (SC-DMMT). The SC-DMMT provided comments and feedback on the draft SAP. The City presented the revised SAP to the SC-DMMT on May 27, 2020 and received approval to move forward with the proposed locations to place dredge spoils for the project, which is an important first step in the process.
The next steps are for the City to prepare Plans & Specifications and obtain permits from the various regulatory agencies (Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Fish and Game, the California Coastal Commission, US Army Corps of Engineers, US Fish & Wildlife, the LA Regional Water Quality Control Board, and the State Lands Commission). The City submitted an application to the ACOE and the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board in early August 2020. The ACOE has issued a Public Notice for comments on the application with the comment period closing on October 29, 2020 (the application materials are attached to this report). Since this project involves routine dredging maintenance of less than 100,000 CY, it is exempt from coastal development permits, is considered ministerial, and thereby is believed to be categorically exempt from CEQA (CCR 15300.1). Nevertheless, the timeframe for these activities is estimated to take up to 12 months.
The City’s harbor does not qualify for federal funding to assist with dredging because it does not rise to the level of commercial activity required for such funding by the US Army Corps of Engineers. If the City is able to forge a partnership with the ACOE on the breakwater project, there may be an opportunity to realize cost savings on the harbor dredging as the two parties coordinate their work effort. Since it remains unclear if those savings will materialize, and the City has not identified another source of funding for the dredging, City staff will continue to explore federal and state opportunities for potential sources of funding that may offset the dredging cost.
The City’s Capital Improvement Program included $500,000 for preliminary engineering, permitting, environmental review and design in FY 2017-18 and proposes a total of $2.2M for Harbor Dredging implementation/construction in FY 2021-22 and FY 2022-23.
ATTACHMENTS
ACOE Submittal Letter
ACOE Application
ACOE Attachments to Application