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Home My WebLink About17 - General Dredging Permit Update0 • • ITEM —` TO: Members of the Newport Beach City Council FROM: Dave Kiff, Deputy City Manager Tony Melum, Deputy Fire and Marine Chief SUBJECT: General Dredging Permit Update RECOMMENDED (1) Receive and File Update; and ACTION(S): (2) Re- agendize another Update for City Council's May 9, 2000 meeting. SUMMARY: An update on the City's efforts to extend, renew, or replace a 10 -year "General Permit" that allows harbor permittees and the City within Newport Bay to dredge material from around their piers, floats and bulkheads. BACKGROUND: At two previous Council Meetings, the City Council has heard about the California Coastal Commission's consideration of a renewable harbor -wide permit (the General Permit) that allows anyone with a pier, float, or bulkhead in Newport Bay (about 1,200 harbor permittees) to dredge the sediment near his or her facility without getting individual, specific permission from the California Coastal Commission or the US Army Corps of Engineers (US ACE). About 35 to 40 harbor permittees use the City's General Permit each year to dredge their facilities. At least three documents make the General Permit function: • A Coastal Development Permit ( "CDP ") that addresses beach disposal; • A Consistency Certification (certifying that dredging and ocean disposal is consistent with the California Coastal Act); and • The Regional General Permit ( "RGP ") from the US Army Corps of Engineers that actually authorizes the dredging of slips, offshore or beach disposal, and pier and bulkhead repair and maintenance. As we reported to the Council on March 28, we believe that a series of conditions applied by the Coastal Commission to the General Permit will be difficult or impossible for many harbor permittees to meet. The conditions include: -- Conditions Proposed for 2000 General Permit -- • Term. The proposed CDP and Consistency Certification have a 5 -year term. • Eelgrass. All three documents — the CDP, the Consistency Certification, and the RGP — require an eelgrass (Zostera marina) survey and map prior to any dredging. Once the survey and map is complete: Page 2 The CDP says that all eelgrass impacts must be mitigated according to the • National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) 1991 Southern California Eelgrass Mitigation Policy. The CDP prohibits any onshore disposal of dredged material within 15' of eelgrass. The Consistency Certification requires mitigation per the 1991 Policy and prohibits dredgiin within 15' of any eelgrass. The RGP requires mitigation per the 1991 Policy but has no limits on dredging or disposal near eelgrass. • Grain Size Analysis. All three documents — the CDP, the Consistency Certification, and the RGP — require an analysis of the dredging spoils' grain size. Once the analysis is complete: The CDP says that the spoils can be used for beach disposal if the grain size analysis shows that the sand level is within 10% of the sand level of the receiving beac h; The Consistency Certification says that, if the grain size analysis shows that the spoils are more than 80% sand, the spoils must go on the beach and cannot go offshore; The RGP says that, if the grain size analysis shows that the spoils are less than 80% sand, they cannot go offshore. The RGP says that, if the grain size analysis shows that the spoils are more than 90% sand, they can go on the beach. These limitations present an interesting conflict for offshore disposal: • Jurisdictional Approval. All three documents require their respective agencies to sign off on aspects of the dredging operations: • The CDP says that the Executive Director of the Coastal Commission will review and approve each grain size analysis and must review any eelgrass survey associated with any dredging prior to any dredging occurring; The Consistency Certification says that individual dredging applicants must give Coastal Commission staff 15 -day advance notice to review the grain size analysis and the eelgrass survey. No work may be done until the staff agrees that each individual action is consistent with the Consistency Certification. The RGP says ithat all dredging applicants must give the US Army Corps of Engineers 15-day notice (called a Notice of Commencement to Begin Work) to review the grain size analysis and the eelgrass survey. No work may be • done until the Crops issues a Notice to Proceed for each project. Sand I Can it go on the beach? Can it go offshore? 00% CDP CC -99% CDP CC E70-8797. rWCDP CDP - CC CC v._ CDP CC ,9% CC RCMP CDP CC C:EY: W MAYBE I NO I SILENT • Jurisdictional Approval. All three documents require their respective agencies to sign off on aspects of the dredging operations: • The CDP says that the Executive Director of the Coastal Commission will review and approve each grain size analysis and must review any eelgrass survey associated with any dredging prior to any dredging occurring; The Consistency Certification says that individual dredging applicants must give Coastal Commission staff 15 -day advance notice to review the grain size analysis and the eelgrass survey. No work may be done until the staff agrees that each individual action is consistent with the Consistency Certification. The RGP says ithat all dredging applicants must give the US Army Corps of Engineers 15-day notice (called a Notice of Commencement to Begin Work) to review the grain size analysis and the eelgrass survey. No work may be • done until the Crops issues a Notice to Proceed for each project. Page 3 • Areas Off Limits Without Additional Testing. The following areas are excluded from the General Permit until the City does additional grain size analyses and chemical testing: The CDP excludes from the Permit the south side of Lido Isle, the west side of Lido Channel, the Rhine Channel, the south side of Balboa Island, all around Linda Isle, and all areas north of the PCH Bridge (Upper Newport Bay). The Consistency Certification excludes from the Permit the south side of Lido Isle, the south side of Balboa Island, all around Linda Isle, and all areas north of the PCH Bridge We are currently seeking bids from private sector providers to complete the testing suggested by the Commission and the Corps. • Limits on Dredging Quantity. The three documents are similar in terms of the limits on the amount of dredged material allowed: The CDP says that no more than 500 cubic yards of sediment may go on the beach from any one site. The Consistency Certification says that no more than 1,000 cubic yards can go offshore from any one site. The CC caps the total amount of material that can be dredged in any one year at 20,000 cubic yards. — The RGP caps beach disposal at 500 cubic yards per site and caps offshore disposal at 1,000 cubic yards per site and 12,000 cubic yards per year. UPDATE: Since the Council's April 11, 2000 meeting, we have corresponded with a variety of individuals relating to this issue, including: • Coastal Commission Staff in San Francisco, Long Beach, and San Diego • Coastal Commission Members • Plazi Miller of Shellmaker, Inc. • US EPA Staff • US Army Corps of Engineers Staff (Los Angeles) • State Senator Ross Johnson s office • State Assembly Member Marilyn Brewer's office As of the time of this Staff Report, the Consistency Certification and the Coastal Development Permit remain on the Commissions May 10 -12 Agenda (at a meeting to be held in Santa Rosa, California). We remain optimistic that we will be able to resolve the key issues surrounding the General Permit soon and will give a verbal update to the City Council on April 25, 2000 if so requested.