Administrative
Report
H.6., File # 23-6050 Meeting Date: 6/6/2023
To: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
From: TED SEMAAN, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
TITLE
APPROVE PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE KING HARBOR MAINTENANCE DREDGING PROJECT, JOB NO. 70660, AND AUTHORIZE THE CITY CLERK TO ADVERTISE THE PROJECT
FOR COMPETITIVE BIDDING
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The planned King Harbor Maintenance Dredging Project (Project) will return King Harbor’s navigational depth to the original design depth and will provide safe vessel access by removing shoals that have accumulated within the Harbor. The project includes the dredging of approximately 62,000 cubic yards of material from two areas within King Harbor. The first dredged area is the shoal fronting the north portion of the King Harbor North Breakwater and the second dredged area is the shoal fronting the inner portion of the South Breakwater at the entrance of Basin 3. The approximately 62,000 cubic yards of dredged material will be placed outside the Harbor at an approved US Army Corps of Engineers nearshore placement site, generally located across from Avenue B in Redondo Beach. The planned deposit site was reviewed and supported by the Harbor Commission.
The Project’s estimated total cost is $2,500,000, which is within the current FY 2022-23 City’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) budget. Plans & Specifications for the Project have been prepared and are now ready to be advertised for competitive bids. The specifications allow 265 calendar days to complete the project. The regulatory permits require that all dredging activity occur during the months of January through July. Approval of the Plans and Specifications and authorizing the City Clerk to advertise the Project now will allow the City to meet the dredging window requirements outlined in the permits.
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 in 2005. The primary reason the Harbor requires ongoing maintenance dredging is that the natural flow of beach sand is from the north to the 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 by design and allows significant amounts of sand into the Harbor where it accumulates at various locations.
The Harbor is currently experiencing significant shoaling and requires dredging in order to maintain navigability and to ensure boater safety. The planned project will return King Harbor’s navigational
H.6., File # 23-6050 Meeting Date: 6/6/2023
navigability and to ensure boater safety. The planned project will return King Harbor’s navigational depth to the original design depth and will provide safe vessel access by removing shoals that have accumulated. The project includes the dredging of approximately 62,000 cubic yards of material from two areas within King Harbor. The first dredged area is the shoal fronting the north portion of the Harbor’s North Breakwater and the second dredged area is the shoal fronting the inner portion of the South Breakwater at the entrance of Basin 3. While most of the dredge spoils will be fine grained sands, there are some large boulders that have come off the breakwall. These boulders cannot be placed with the fines and will be returned to the breakwater or put to other beneficial use around the Harbor.
Regulatory permits from the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) have been secured to place the fine-grained dredged material in two areas. The chosen area, as identified in the project plans and specifications, is a Corps approved nearshore placement site outside of the Harbor and located several hundred yards off shore across from Avenue B in Redondo Beach. This is the location that the anticipated 62,000 cubic yards of dredged material will be placed and is endorsed by the City’s Harbor Commission.
The City hired Noble Consultants to assist with the evaluation, planning, and permit acquisition for the Project. The City’s project team presented the Project’s draft 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 SCDMMT on May 27, 2020 and received agency approval to move forward with the project.
The City obtained the required U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Permit SPL-2019-00541 on November 21, 2022 and Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board Permit WDID 4WQC40120081 was approved October 26, 2022 for the Project.
The Army Corps Permit included approval from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Fish and Game, the California Coastal Commission, US Fish & Wildlife and the State Lands Commission. 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).
At the February 12, 2023 Harbor Commission meeting, the Harbor Commission discussed recommendations for the Project. The Commission’s recommendations are included as an attachment to this staff report (Harbor Commission Dredging CIP Recommendations, April 4, 2023).
The Commission and the public expressed significant concerns about placing the dredged material within the Harbor, which was an available option when presented to the Harbor Commission. In response to those concerns, the prepared project plans and specifications call for the placement of 100% of the dredged material outside of the harbor. In addition, the Commission was concerned with the quality of the dredged material and requested an independent expert be preset during dredging to monitor the quality of the material. A qualified inspector will be present during the dredging to ensure all water quality permit requirements are met.
The Project’s estimated total cost is $2,500,000, which is within the current FY 2023-24 City’s CIP budget. Plans & Specifications for the Project have been prepared and are now ready to be advertised for competitive bids. The specifications allow 265 calendar days to complete the dredging activities. This schedule will meet the allowable dredging window included in the regulatory permits Page 2 of 3 H.6., File # 23-6050 Meeting Date: 6/6/2023
activities. This schedule will meet the allowable dredging window included in the regulatory permits (January - July). Approval of the Plans and Specifications and authorizing the City Clerk to advertise the Project will allow the city to meet the requirements outlined in the permits and issue the Project’s Notice to Proceed the first week in October to meet the project schedule targets.
COORDINATION
The scope of work identified in the Plans and Specifications have been coordinated through the Public Works Department and have been developed with input from the Harbor Commission along with the Community Development and Waterfront & Economic Development Departments. Project construction will be coordinated with the Waterfront & Economic Development Department.
FISCAL IMPACT
The Engineer’s cost estimate for the project is $2.5M, which is within the $4.5M Project budget approved in the FY 2022-23 CIP.
APPROVED BY:
Mike Witzansky, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
· Letter - Harbor Commission Dredging CIP Recommendations, April 4, 2023