The City of Newport Beach

The Facts Behind the City’s Dredging Project and In-Harbor Sediment Plan

The California Coastal Commission is preparing to consider permitting plans for an important Newport Harbor dredging project. The City of Newport Beach would like to remind residents about the critical need for this project and clarify key topics, including the rigorous environmental analysis that supports the proposal.


Dredging Newport Harbor is critical to maintain safe navigation and a well-functioning harbor. Over the past several decades, sediment has washed down into Newport Bay and accumulated at the bottom of Newport Harbor, which reduces water depths, impedes navigation and diminishes natural tidal flushing. Periodic dredging of Newport Harbor is essential to maintain safe, navigable waterways for recreational, commercial and public safety vessels; increase necessary ocean water flushing to support good water quality and habit and support the economic vitality of the harbor. In total, the project will dredge and remove about 1.2 million cubic yards of accumulated sediment, therefore returning the waterways to their original depths of -10 to -20 feet. Without dredging, sediment will continue to build up, making navigation more difficult and dangerous and decrease tidal flushing, leading to more stagnant water conditions.


This project will improve the harbor environment. Dredging will improve the harbor aquatic environment by increasing tidal flushing. The harbor’s smaller back channels will especially benefit from increased circulation. The project will also improve water quality. Sediment that contains low levels of pollutants (identified in less than 9% of the dredge material) would be placed underground within the harbor where it would no longer be freely circulating near the harbor floor.


The sediment identified for in-harbor placement is not considered hazardous or toxic under the stringent definitions of the EPA. The sediment has been tested and is not toxic or hazardous as defined by state or federal regulations. These terms have very specific regulatory definitions that do not apply to the material being dredged. Rather, the material is considered “unsuitable” for open ocean disposal at EPA’s dredge material disposal sites offshore. The primary contaminant of concern in the harbor are trace amounts of mercury (found in fluids such as motor fuels) that is contained in the harbor bottom sediments. The generally accepted threshold allowed in Southern California for open ocean disposal is 1.0 parts per million (ppm) of mercury within the sediment. The in-harbor mercury levels to be placed within the CAD range from about 1.5 ppm to 5 ppm. To be clear, this same sediment material is currently allowed to remain on the harbor bottom as-is should the in-harbor disposal project not be constructed.


Testing showed that the unsuitable dredge material was not harmful to aquatic organisms. The assessment of proposed dredge material included biological testing using multiple species of aquatic organisms that were exposed to sediment for several weeks. This was done under strict laboratory testing protocols developed by the EPA and regulatory agencies. No toxicity was observed during testing. All mercury concentrations in tissues were below those that have been shown to cause toxicity to marine organisms. This means that the tested species were healthy and not affected or harmed by weeks of direct contact with the unsuitable material. In addition, all tissue concentrations were below U.S. Food and Drug Administration action levels for mercury in fish and shellfish for human food, indicating this would not pose a human health risk.


The CAD would provide a confined location for harbor bottom sediment that is now exposed to the environment. The sediment unsuitable for open-ocean disposal is currently situated at the bottom of the harbor where it is subject to being continually stirred up through everyday boating activity. The unsuitable sediment will be placed in a large hole, then covered with clean sediment to create a contained system that will prevent this material from being stirred up and resuspended in the water, where it makes contact with boats, swimmers and wildlife.


The dredging plan is subject to rigorous environmental analysis and approval by multiple outside agencies. The city’s Environmental Impact Report (EIR) which includes a thorough analysis of the proposal, has been available to the public since 2020. Several public hearings were held as the EIR came before the Harbor Commission and City Council for approval in 2021. Throughout the approval process, city staff has met with numerous groups, harbor stakeholders and individual residents to explain the proposal and invite comment. The dredge plan is subject to approval by the EPA, California Coastal Commission, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Regional Water Quality Control Board.


Multiple alternative methods other than in-harbor disposal were considered. As required by the EIR, the city considered many potential alternatives to the recommended proposal. Shipping the material by barge to the ports of Long Beach or Los Angeles was not possible as the ports do not have plans to expand in the foreseeable future. Removing the material by land is impractical, prohibitively expensive and would result in increased environmental impacts. It would require the construction of a shore-side processing area and transporting the material to a landfill by an estimated 8,800 truck trips. This would cause considerable impacts to the environment, roadways and surrounding neighborhoods. The city also considered alternatives suggested by residents, such as placing unsuitable material at the Lower Castaways public park. An independent consultant retained by the city to review this approach found that it could cost as much as $89 million and would impact public access, animal habitats, coastal bluffs, visual quality and public views. Another suggested approach was to treat the material and then dispose of that treated material in the open ocean. Unfortunately, the EPA does not allow any treated material to be placed in the open ocean.


Without the CAD, Newport Beach could not dredge main channels in the harbor. If the unsuitable material is left in place and not dredged, high spots in the main channels would continue to build up over time. Navigation will continue to be affected along the entirety of W. Coast Highway as well as the Peninsula Channel from 12th Street to 19th Street. Larger vessels and vessels with deep keels would be restricted to favorable high tides and would continue to stir up unsuitable sediment, creating plumes in the harbor. These navigation concerns would affect all vessels, including visiting vessels and those requiring shipyard maintenance that must pass through these channels.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

The California Coastal Commission is meeting on the final approval of this project October 14, 2022.

Email correspondence will be distributed to the Commission before the hearing on this item if it is received by 5 pm on Friday, October 7, 2022 before the hearing. If it is received after that time, then it will not be distributed to the Commission.

Please send your support in email to:

So********@co*****.gov

Subject Line: I support the CAD & Dredging Project in Newport Beach
Application No. 5-21-0640

The Coastal Commission website is www.coastal.ca.gov.
Application No. 5-21-0640.

Thank you for your support!

This piece was provided by the City of Newport Beach.

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Board Member Devon Kelly

Longtime Newport Beach resident Devon Kelly has joined the Newport Harbor Foundation board of directors.

“Devon brings a wealth of harbor history and knowledge to the Foundation’s mission. She has spent her entire life sailing on the bay and volunteering in the community. Her boundless energy is welcome as we push towards taking our harbor to the next level for all to enjoy,” said Newport Harbor Foundation Chairman Dennis Durgan.

“I’ve sailed throughout the United States and Mediterranean and believe Newport Harbor is a treasure that needs to be maintained and managed properly for future generations,” said Kelly. “I look forward to working with the Foundation to develop programs to improve water quality and enhance the harbor’s ecosystem for recreation, boating, and commerce.”

Kelly was born and raised in Newport Beach and grew up sailing and cruising to Catalina. She attended Newport Harbor High School and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. She and her husband Gregg have two children who live locally. Kelly taught school at Carden Hall Elementary in Newport Beach, and coached field hockey at Newport Harbor High School. She has served on the Newport Harbor High School Educational Foundation and also was a Board member on the Lido Isle Community Association.

The Newport Harbor foundation was incorporated in 2019 as a 501C3 non-profit educational corporation dedicated to the preservation and improvement of Newport Harbor. At a recent kick-off luncheon, NHF raised $550,000 toward their goal of $2.5 million to purchase police boats and fire boats for the harbor.

First published at the Newport Beach Independent.

It’s been more than five decades since Newport Beach City Councilman Marshall “Duffy” Duffield started his Duffy Electric Boat company.

Duffield built his first boat when he was 16 years old. His company has sold tens of thousands of boats and become synonymous with Newport Beach, where Duffy rides on the harbor are the norm.

“I’ve had to endure decades of laughter,” he told a crowd — also laughing — on Thursday at the Balboa Bay Resort. “To be known as a builder of the world’s slowest boat is something that I really didn’t think I wanted on this planet. I wanted to be a famous sailboat designer and racer dude, and I sort of kind of am, but not really.”

Still, Duffield now hopes the Newport Harbor Foundation can also similarly be built from the ground up.

The foundation, launched in 2019 before being curtailed due to the coronavirus pandemic, held a kickoff champagne brunch Thursday.

It announced that it had raised more than $275,000 at the event, which also served as a celebration of 50 years of Duffy boats. That number was doubled to $550,000, as foundation chairman Dennis Durgan said there was an anonymous matching gift.

The Newport Harbor Foundation’s stated goal is to take back local control of Newport Harbor, which is now patrolled by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, and start a Newport Harbor Public Safety Department.

Durgan, himself a former harbormaster, said the foundation wants to initially raise $2.5 million for the purchase of a fire boat and four police patrol boats.

Continue reading at the Los Angeles Times…

Marina Park

Last week 175 residents, political leaders, and Newport Harbor supporters donated over $550,000 to kick off the Newport Harbor Foundation. The Foundation’s goal is to return local control of our harbor to the city.

We celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Duffy Electric Boat. Duffy’s passion for the harbor spans decades.

With 25 miles of frontage, almost 10,000 boats of all shapes and sizes, kayaks, paddle boards, sailing clubs, and charter boats the harbor resembles the 405 Freeway on a busy weekend.

An estimated seven million visitors per year use Newport Harbor’s complex ecosystem that generates an estimated $1 billion per year of economic activity.

Our harbor is essentially a city within the city.

We believe our harbor asset needs to be properly managed by the city.

Our mission is to “Take Back Our Harbor.” It begins with Newport Beach creating our own Harbor Public Safety Department operated by our city, not the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

The Foundation will raise over $2.5 million to purchase and donate a fire boat and police boats to the city for a Harbor Public Safety Department.

This plan does not displace the Sheriffs Harbor Patrol They will continue to use their Homeland Security grant to police the coastline for drug runners and illegal immigrants. They will be available for large-scale emergencies in the harbor through existing mutual aid agreements.

Our Harbor Public Safety Department will use the city’s existing police, fire and lifeguards to make the harbor safe for residents and tourists. We believe local control of the harbor is best achieved by Newport Beach running the show.

If you agree, sign up for regular updates at www.newportharborfoundation.org.

Dennis Durgan / Chairman, Newport Harbor Foundation, Past Newport Beach Harbor Master

This first appeared at NewportBeachIndy.com