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NEWPORT BEACH
City Council Staff Report
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
CITY OF
January 14, 2025
Agenda Item No. 14
ABSTRACT:
The federal government , via the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , is planning a dredging project within Newport Harbor . The City of Newport Beach , acting as the local sponsor for the project, is responsible for identifying a disposal location for dredged material that is deemed unsuitable for open ocean disposal. To that end, t he City certified an Environmental Impact Report to construct a Confined Aquatic Disposal site within Newport Harbor and obtained the necessary entitlements to place the dredged material within that site. However, the project was paused while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers refined its environmental analysis. In the meantime, City staff continued to look for an alternative disposal solution in addition to the planned Confined Aquatic Disposal.
As a result, an opportunity to dispose unsuitable material within the Port of Long Beach’s Pier G Slip Fill Project emerged, and the City and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are now preparing to use this alternate disposal site. Therefore, the Port of Long Beach requires a Memorandum of Agreement with the City prior to the disposal of dredged material from Newport Harbor in the Pier G Slip Fill Project.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
a) Find that, pursuant to Section 21166 of the California Public Resources Code and Section 15162 of the CEQA Guidelines, the certified Environmental Impact Report for the Piers G and J Terminal Redevelopment (SCH No. 2000 -021021) addressed all environmental impacts associated with the City of Newport Beach entering into this Memorandum of Agreement, that there are no new or more severe impacts beyond those analyzed in that document, and, as a result, no further environmental review is required by CEQA;
b) Approve and execute the Memorandum of Agreement with the City of Long Beach acting by and through the Port of Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners authorizing disposal of Lower Bay dredged material into the Port’s Pier G Slip Fill Project; and
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: David A. Webb, Public Works Director - 949-644-3311, [email protected]
PREPARED BY: Chris Miller, Public Works Administrative Manager - 949-644-3043, [email protected]
TITLE: Memorandum of Agreement with the City of Long Beach Acting By and Through the Port of Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners Authorizing Disposal of Lower Bay Dredged Material Into the Port’s Pier G Slip Fill Project
Memorandum of Agreement with the City of Long Beach Authorizing Disposal of Lower Bay Dredged Material Into the Port’s Pier G Slip Fill Project January 14, 2025
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c) Authorize the City Manager or her designee to execute any future amendments or agreements with the City of Long Beach acting by and through the Port of Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners as related to the disposal of Lower Bay dredged material to ensure the City of Newport Beach meets the strict delivery schedule imposed by the Port.
DISCUSSION:
Newport Harbor is one of the largest recreational harbors in the United States. Natural processes of storm water and erosion flowing into the harbor, primarily from San Diego Creek, result in the movement and accumulation of sediment which must be periodically dredged to maintain the federally authorized channel depths for safe navigation. The Federal Channels extend from the Entrance Channel to the Turning Basin (adjacent to the Newport Boulevard Bridge), and from the east anchorage between Bay Island and Lido Isle to the Marina Park area. These channels are the responsibility of and are maintained by the federal government via the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
In 2022, the City contributed $10 million towards the Confined Aquatic Disposal (CAD) , representing approximately 50% of the overall cost. USACE has funded the remaining 50% of the CAD, and continues to seek additional funds through the USACE federal work plan request process.
Sediment studies are conducted to evaluate disposal options as required by the regulatory and resource agencies. The recent sediment sampling effort conducted in September 2024 determined that most of the material (745,000 cubic yards) in Newport Harbor is suitable for disposal at the federally authorized ocean disposal site located six miles from the Entrance Channel. The remaining material (approximately 191,000 cubic yards) is unsuitable for open ocean disposal; therefore, it is the City ’s responsibility as the local sponsor to identify a disposal location.
In 2021, the City determined that construction of a CAD in Newport Harbor was the most feasible and cost-effective option available at the time for disposal of unsuitable material.
Therefore, the City Council certified Environmental Impact Report (EIR) No. EIR2021-001, and all entitlements were secured for the CAD in 2022 and 2023 .
However, in 2023, USACE suspended the City’s CAD permit so USACE could refine its federal environmental analysis.
In the meantime, City staff initiated discussions with the Port of Long Beach (POLB) to explore disposal options within its Pier G Slip Fill Project (Pier G Project). The Pier G Project includes the reconfiguring of the Pier G South Slip, which requires filling an existing container ship slip to create more land-based storage.
The POLB and the terminal operator tenant had originally planned that 100% of the required fill material for the Pier G Project would be from existing locations within the port complex with no external sources of material required to complete the Pier G Project.
However, earlier this year after further discussion with the POLB , the POLB agreed to provide capacity of up to 225,000 cubic yards of material from Newport Harbor within the Pier G Project. This is a strategically unique opportunity for the City, and it represents an ideal option for material disposal that was otherwise not available.
Memorandum of Agreement with the City of Long Beach Authorizing Disposal of Lower Bay Dredged Material Into the Port’s Pier G Slip Fill Project January 14, 2025
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For reference, in 2011 and 2012, the POLB and the City collaborated in the same manner when the POLB’s Middle Harbor Fill Project was underway . Material from the City’s Rhine Channel as well as material from Phase I of the Lower Bay Federal Dredging Project was disposed at the POLB via daily tugboat and disposal scow round trips. This same process will be used to deliver material from the current Lower Bay Project to the Pier G Project.
The POLB has obtained all necessary regulatory agency approvals for the Pier G Project to be used as a placement site for the Newport Bay material. However, before disposal can commence, the POLB requires a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to be executed between the two parties. Should the City Council approve the MOA, the POLB Harbor Commissioners will consider approval and execution at their January 27, 2025 meeting.
The attached agreement has been reviewed and approved as to form by the City Attorney’s Office, and the deal points therein are considered reasonable to both parties.
It is noted, however, that timing is critical. The disposal window to transport material to the POLB is extremely tight, with a current delivery timeline between approximately May 2025 to October 2025, or until an underwater containment dike at Pier G precludes safe navigation for the tugboat and disposal scow. Therefore, the City and USACE are diligently working together to ensure th at project planning is completed on time, and the project is bid and awarded with dredging commencing approximately May 2025.
Currently, the project is positively tracking towards those goals . However, should this alternative disposal at the POLB not materialize or fall short of the disposal goals, the City would resume efforts to continue proceeding with the original CAD option.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Lower Bay Dredging P roject is estimated to cost approximately $20 million. Of this amount, approximately $10 million will be paid by the federal government wh ich is also seeking additional funds via the USACE federal work plan requests. In 2022, the City contributed $10 million , which was expensed to the Tidelands Capital Fund in the Public Works Department, Account Nos. 10101 -980000-18H07 and 10101 -980000- 22H07. The Tidelands Capital Fund was created to allow for the sequestration of incremental increases from tidelands rent adjustments solely to finance critical in -harbor capital improvements like seawall repairs, piers and dredging. The City’s contributed funds are currently with USACE and are immediately available.
In addition, the County has expressed interest in, but has not yet committed to, contributing approximately $2 million to reimburse the City for dredging within County tidelands. The City will commence negotiations with the County after the project has been awarded and is in progress.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
Pursuant to Section 21166 of the California Public Resources Code and Section 15162 of the California Code of Regulations Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3 (CEQA Guidelines ), when an EIR has been certified for a project, no subsequent EIR is required unless the lead agency determines, on the basis of substantial evidence in the light of the whole record, one or more of the following:
Memorandum of Agreement with the City of Long Beach Authorizing Disposal of Lower Bay Dredged Material Into the Port’s Pier G Slip Fill Project January 14, 2025
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a. Substantial changes are proposed in the project which will require major revisions of the previous EIR due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects;
b. Substantial changes occur with respect to the circumstances under which the project is undertaken which will require major revisions of the previous EIR due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects; or c. New information of substantial importance, which was not known and could not have been known with the exercise of reasonable diligence at the time the previous EIR was certified as complete, shows any of the following:
i. The project will have one or more significant effects not discussed in the previous EIR;
ii. Significant effects previously examined will be substantially more severe than shown in the previous EIR;
iii. Mitigation measures or alternatives previously found not to be feasible would in fact be feasible and would substantially reduce one or more significant effects of the Project, but the Project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measure or alternative; or
iv. Mitigation measures or alternatives which are considerably different from those analyzed in the previous EIR would substantially reduce one or more significant effects on the environment, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measure or alternative.
The POLB certified the Environmental Impact Report EIR for the Piers G and J Terminal Development (SCH No. 2000 -021021), which is attached hereto as Attachment B and incorporated herein by reference.
The EIR was prepared in compliance with California Public Resources Code Section 21000 et seq. and its implementing State regulations set forth in the CEQA Guidelines.
The EIR analyzed the potential impacts of the Pier G Project which consists of filling an existing container ship slip to create more land-based storage with 2,550,000 cubic yards of dredged material. Inclusion of as much as 225,000 cubic yards of dredged material from the USACE project within the Pier G Project does not result in a substantial change to the project that will require major revisions to the EIR, does not result in substantial changes to the circumstances under which the project is undertaken that would require major revisions to the EIR, nor constitute new information. Therefore, in accordance with Section 21166 of the California Public Resources Code and Section 15162 of the CEQA Guidelines, the adoption of the MOA does not require additional environmental review.
Memorandum of Agreement with the City of Long Beach Authorizing Disposal of Lower Bay Dredged Material Into the Port’s Pier G Slip Fill Project January 14, 2025
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NOTICING:
The agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the meeting at which the City Council considers the item).
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A – Memorandum of Agreement with the Port of Long Beach Attachment B – Web Link to Environmental Impact Report for Piers G & J Terminal Development (SCH 2000-021021)