Coastkeeper suit delays confined aquatic disposal facility planned for underneath Newport Bay
By Tom Johnson – June 06, 2023
Source: Stu News Newport Fair Game 060623
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) has halted the dredging of Lower Newport Bay and construction authorization for the City of Newport Beach’s (the city’s) Confined Aquatic Disposal (CAD) facility. The Corps put things on hold after Orange County Coastkeeper (Coastkeeper) filed a lawsuit challenging their failure to fully analyze actions possibly violating the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Endangered Species Act (ESA).
So, is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Sources tell me that the city is fine with postponement for several reasons. First, the delay allows them to gather further data and two, doing the work in the fall or winter is certainly more conducive than doing it in the middle of summer with all the crowds.
Initially, the Corps was required to respond to the lawsuit from Coastkeeper by June 16. However, in order to allow the Corps additional time to consider revisiting its compliance issues, all parties agreed to extend that deadline to July 12, including temporarily halting dredging activities and the authorization to construct the CAD facility.
The postponed project is an effort between the Corps and the city to dredge the federal channels in Newport Bay in order to address underwater sediment buildup that could eventually impact vessel navigability. The dredged material deemed unsuitable for open ocean disposal through the process due to elevated levels of contaminants such as mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) would be permanently stored in a CAD facility constructed by the city within Lower Newport Bay.
At the CAD, this contaminated sediment would be covered with additional layers of less polluted sediment to try and prevent it from reentering the wider environment.
It’s been a controversial subject, particularly when it was previously considered elsewhere in Newport Bay.
Source: Stu News Newport: Fair Game 060623
Newport Beach has a handful of iconic attractions that have stood the test of time: The Newport Pier, which replaced the original McFadden Wharf (1888-1939) and is registered as a California Historical Landmark; the Balboa Pavilion, which opened on July 1, 1906 and is the city’s oldest standing building; and the Balboa Island Ferry, which went into service in 1919 to bring cars and passengers across 900 feet of water between Balboa Island and the Balboa Fun Zone.
All permits are in place for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge channels in Lower Newport Bay and bury any contaminated sediment in a massive underwater pit at the heart of Newport Harbor.
But the project is now facing multiple legal challenges that could slow it down or thwart it entirely, as resident and environmental groups that tried to block those permits cite ongoing concerns over risks to marine life and bay contamination.
The Balboa Island Ferry, one of our most iconic Newport Beach tourism experiences, could be no more.
If that sounds dramatic, it is. I can’t imagine our city without the ferry, but unless something is done, this treasured piece of our city could be gone in less than two years.
Thousands of locals and visitors use the ferry every year and it’s a vital part of our culture and history. It is part of what makes us Newport Beach, and in my mind, it is as important as our beaches. But all of that is now threatened and could be lost.
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