Los Angeles Basin Contaminated Sediment Task Force

Contaminated Sediment
Long Term Management Strategy
ACTION PLAN

Los Angeles County's coastline includes two of the nation's largest commercial ports and several major marina complexes and small-vessel harbors. Maintenance of authorized depths in existing channels and berthing areas and expansion and modernization of ports, harbors, and marinas, requires periodic dredging in virtually all of these facilities. Some of the sediments dredged from these harbors contain elevated levels of heavy metals, pesticides, and other contaminants. In most cases, the concentrations of these contaminants do not approach hazardous levels. However, the sediments contain enough contaminants that they are not suitable for unconfined ocean disposal. Additionally, the State's Bay Protection and Toxic Cleanup Program has identified bays and estuaries containing areas with contaminated sediments. Remediation of these sites may require dredging and disposal of this material. Disposal of any contaminated dredged materials requires special management, such as placement in a confined aquatic disposal site, capping, or disposal in an upland site. Additionally, some ports and harbors have considered other management techniques, such as treatment and beneficial re-use.

Recently, the ports and harbors have delayed or canceled several dredging projects because of contaminated sediment issues. The regulatory agencies evaluated disposal options for these projects on a case-by-case basis without the benefit of a regional perspective on management alternatives, cumulative impacts, and long-term solutions to prevent re-contamination of sediment. This approach has lead to public concern over the ecological and human health implications of contaminated dredged material disposal. To resolve these issues, the regulatory and resource agencies, ports and harbors, environmental groups, and other interested parties agreed to establish a task force. The mission of this Contaminated Sediment Task Force (Task Force) is to prepare a Contaminated Sediment Long-Term Management Strategy (Strategy) for the Los Angeles region.

The members of the Task Force agreed that the Strategy will consider confined aquatic and upland disposal, sediment treatment, beneficial re-use, other management techniques, and contamination source control. The Task Force identified five basic goals that it must accomplish in preparing the Strategy. These goals are as follows:

1. Identify the locations, sources, approximate quantities, and nature of contaminated sediments that may be dredged in the five-year period following the completion of the Strategy. The Task Force will update these estimates annually
2. Identify environmentally preferable and feasible management and disposal alternatives for the Los Angeles County region, including multi-user disposal sites and beneficial re-use.
3. Develop the unified set of policies that the various resource and regulatory agencies will need to evaluate dredging of contaminated sediments.
4. Promote and implement region-wide efforts at source reduction through watershed management.
5. Seek funding for additional studies and implementation of the Strategy.

The Task Force will accomplish these goals through a set of study topics and work tasks implemented by subgroups of the Task Force, as described below, and through interaction with the public.

A. SCOPE OF THE CONTAMINATED SEDIMENT PROBLEM. The Task Force's first goal is to identify the scope of the contaminated sediment problem. Informal surveys of potential users and past projects suggest that the major sources of contaminated dredge material will continue to be Marina del Rey, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and the mouth of the Los Angeles River. As a basis for the Strategy, the Task Force needs to identify the locations, quantities, and nature of the contaminants.

An analysis of the likely contamination sources is also an important element of the Strategy. Management goals may differ depending on whether the sediments have been affected by past contaminant inputs or are influenced by ongoing contamination processes. Additionally, the nature of the contaminants is an important issue. Through review of test results from individual projects, existing studies, and special projects, if necessary, the Task Force will develop a clear picture of the regional distribution and intensity of sediment contamination.

B. ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS. The Task Force's second goal is to identify management and disposal alternatives for contaminated sediment. These alternatives must be both environmentally sound, in that they do not pose unacceptable or poorly defined risks to human health, marine organisms, and the environment, and feasible, in that there are no environmental, technical, economical, and political constraints that prevent full implementation. The Task Force will identify a range of potential re-use, treatment, and disposal alternatives for managing the region's contaminated sediments.

The alternatives must apply to various situations, because contaminated sediments vary considerably in terms of the nature and degree of contamination, physical characteristics, and quantity. Additionally, the feasibility of these management approaches will vary depending on the applicability of the alternatives to the specific projects. Therefore, the Strategy will produce a range of potentially feasible alternatives that the harbor managers and regulators will consider in light of project-specific details.

C. UNIFIED REGULATORY APPROACH. The Task Force's third goal is to develop guidance for regulatory review with the objective of developing a well defined and consistent review process. Agencies charged with evaluating and regulating the dredging and disposal of sediments currently do not have a clearly defined and consistent set of evaluation criteria to address contaminated sediment. Such guidance would serve to facilitate and enhance predictability in the regulatory agencies' review processes. Implementation of a unified regulatory approach could lead to changes in policy, regulations, and/or laws.

D. WATERSHED MANAGEMENT. The Task Force's fourth goal is to identify inputs of contaminants to coastal waters and ongoing regional efforts to reduce such inputs, with a view towards promoting efforts that would reduce the inflow of contaminants. Initially, the Task Force will work with existing watershed management programs. If necessary, the Task Force will also develop new information that will enhance those programs with respect to management of contaminated dredge material.

E. FUNDING. The Task Force's fifth goal recognizes that development of the Strategy is likely to require special studies to address specific issues, as well as substantial human and material resources from all parties. The Task Force must secure the funding needed to support the special studies and provide the other resources during strategy development.

III. COMPOSITION, STRUCTURE, AND FUNCTIONS OF THE CONTAMINATED SEDIMENT TASK FORCE

The Task Force was established through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) among the state and federal agencies with regulatory jurisdiction over dredging and disposal activities, as identified by SB 673, and other agencies representing ports, harbors, and marinas. The following agencies are signatory to that MOU: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; California Coastal Commission; Regional Water Quality Control Board, Los Angeles Region; County of Los Angeles; City of Long Beach; Port of Long Beach; and Port of Los Angeles.

A. MEMBERSHIP

Membership in the Task Force includes local, state, and federal agencies involved in the regulation and management of dredging, the governing bodies of ports and harbors, environmental groups, and any other governamental and public representatives with a stake or interest in the in the development of the Strategy. All Task Force members may participate in the development of the Strategy by attending regular meetings, providing comments, and participating in the strategy development committees.

B. STRUCTURE

The Task Force will carry out its operation through two main committees (Executive, and Management Committees), a Technical Advisory Committee, and five strategy development committees (Watershed, Aquatic Disposal and Dredge Operations, Upland Disposal and Beneficial Re-Use, Sediment Screening, and Implementation Committees). The membership of the Management Committee includes those parties that signed the MOU and one organization selected to represent the environmental community. The strategy development committees are open to any interested party. The Task Force Coordinator will coordinate the activities of the committees.

1. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. The Executive Committee of the Contaminated Sediment Task Force consists of the chief executives of the four major agencies that regulate and manage dredging and disposal in Southern California (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX; California Water Quality Control Board, Los Angeles Region; California Coastal Commission).

The Executive Committee will:

• provide open communication between the executives of the represented agencies;
• facilitate final agency concurrence, adoption, and implementation of the completed strategy:
• resolve desputes within the Management Committee.

The Executive Committee will meet at least once each year.

2. MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE. The Management Committee consists of one representative, and an alternate, from the Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX; California Water Quality Control Board, Los Angeles Region; California Coastal Commission; the City of Long Beach; Port of Long Beach; Port of Los Angeles; County of Los Angeles; One Federal or State Resource Agency (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, or California Department of Fish and Game) and a party nominated by the environmental community to represent its interests.

The Management Committee is the main decision-making group within the Task Force. Its primary roles are as follows:

• make policy decisions concerning the content of the Strategy;
• solicit funds and establish funding priorities;
• assign tasks;
• resolve disputes;
• convene meetings of the Task Force.

Decisions of the Task Force will be made based on the consensus of the Management Committee. The Management Committee will also oversee and direct the strategy development committees (see below), and can establish new strategy development committees, as needed. Once the strategy development committees complete their studies, the Management Committee will use their products as a basis for the drafting the Strategy. After reviewing comments from the Executive Committee, and members of the public, the Management Committee will finalize the Strategy.

The Management Committee should convene a meeting of the Task Force at least quarterly. The meetings of the Management Committee will be open to the public and the Management Committee will incorporate public comments into its decision-making process.

. STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEES. The purpose of these committees is to develop identified elements of the Strategy. To date, the Task Force has identified five strategy development committees: the Upland Disposal and Beneficial Re-Use Committee, the Aquatic Disposal and Dredge Operation Committee, the Sediment Screening Threshold Committee, the Strategy Implementation Committee, and the Watershed Management and Source Reduction Committee (see Appendix A).

Each strategy development committee will complete its work product as follows:

1. Identify the primary product of the committee.
2. Develop an action plan for generating the work product. The action plan will describe each step necessary for completion of the product and will identify a schedule, necessary resources, and primary and related individuals necessary to complete each step. The committees will present the action plan to the Management Committee for its review and concurrence.
3. Prepare a budget for implementation of the action plan and present it to the Management Committee for review and approval.
4. Develop, using the action plan as guidance, the committee's product.

The strategy development committees will present draft work products to the Management Committee for its review and comments before finalizing the reports.

4. TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE. The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) is an ad hoc advisory group supporting the Management Committee, and/or the strategy development committees. The membership of the TAC will vary depending on the expertise needed to evaluate a specific issue, but will generally include technical experts from member agencies, academia, research organizations, and other entities as appropriate. The TAC is not a decision-making body.

The Technical Advisory Committee will meet as necessary to discuss technical issues raised by the Management Committee or the strategy development committees. Any committee of the Task Force may use the resources of the TAC by making a request to the Task Force Coordinator and recommending specific individuals who should participate in the meeting. The decision to convene a TAC is at the sole discretion of the Task Force Coordinator. The Task Force Coordinator shall report the schedule for TAC meetings and the results of all TAC sessions to the Management Committee.

5. TASK FORCE COORDINATOR. Pursuant to SB 673, the California Legislature mandated the California Coastal Commission to prepare the Strategy, in coordination with other relevant agencies and interested parties. Because of this mandate and authorized funding, the Commission will designate a staff person to function as Task Force Coordinator of the Task Force.

IV. ELEMENTS OF THE STRATEGY

The Task Force will produce annual updates and workshops to both the Commission and the Regional Water Quality Control Board. Additionally, by January 1, 1999, the Task Force will provide a status report to the legislature discussing the status of the MOU and the strategy. The Task Force's main product is the Contaminated Sediment Long-Term Management Strategy for the Los Angeles Region. The strategy shall contain the following elements:

1. identification of pollution sources within and outside of the ports and marinas within the study area;
2. identification of the location, approximate quantity, and nature of sources of contaminated dredge material;
3. identification and description of beneficial re-use alternatives;
4. identification and description of feasible treatment technologies;
5. identification of the location and nature of alternative disposal sites including, but not limited to, upland sites and aquatic sites;
6. criteria for monitoring dredging operations;
7. plans for operation, management, and monitoring of any regional confined aquatic disposal sites, regional upland sites, or regional upland rehandling sites;
8. description of funding mechanism for long-term operation, management, and monitoring of regional upland and confined aquatic disposal sites;
9. implementation plan for contaminated sediment management that shall include, at least, the following elements:
1. multi-agency permit and federal consistency application;
2. recommendations for streamlining multi-agency permit process; and
10. guidance on incorporating the identified disposal and management alternatives into an evaluation procedure and selecting the alternative appropriate to each project;
11. criteria for use of each disposal alternative;
12. a description and status of existing watershed management and source reduction programs that are applicable to sediments within the study area;
13. recommendations for additional watershed and source reduction management, if necessary;
14. recommendations on the need for and benefit of establishing a permanent Dredge Material Management Committee (DMMC) to implement the Strategy;
15. identification of best management practices for dredging and disposal of contaminated sediment; and
16. establishing regional contaminated sediment screening thresholds.

Along with the development of the Strategy, the Task Force shall develop an interim process to address dredging and disposal of contaminated sediment until the adoption of the Strategy. The Task Force will also develop interim monitoring requirements for confined aquatic disposal sites. The Strategy does not become effective until adopted by the Commission, the Regional Board, EPA Regional Administrator, and Commander of the South Pacific Division of the Corps of Engineers.

V. SCHEDULE, BUDGET, AND AUTHORITY

A. SCHEDULE. The Task Force will develop and implement an Interim Dredge Material Management Plan on or before June 30, 1998.

The Task Force will complete the Contaminated Sediment Long-Term Management Strategy by January 1, 2003. The Task Force will use the schedule in Appendix B to complete the Strategy.

B. ADMINISTRATIVE BUDGET. Funding from SB 673 provides $100,000 per year for five years for both the California Coastal Commission and the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). The Coastal Commission will conduct administrative functions with these funds, and the SWRCB, through the LA-RWQCB, will provide technical support.

Since the Task Force has limited funds for administration and preparation of the Strategy, and no budget for technical studies, obtaining sufficient funding is imperative. The Task Force Coordinator will coordinate with the Management Committee to identify funding sources and will be responsible for establishing the appropriate contacts and submitting applications or requests for funds. The Task Force Coordinator shall report to the Management Committee on the Task Force funding status and need.

Initial funding sources to be investigated include:

• Federal Funds (e.g., Federal Budget line item for Corps and/or EPA in WRDA; Corps Reconnaissance Studies; other Corps or EPA funding)
• Grants (EPA; NOAA; Department of Transportation; other Federal grants; private grants)
• State Funds (environmental license plates; State budget bills)
• Contributions by ports, marinas and other entities
• Dredge material disposal fees.

C. LEGISLATIVE AND INSTITUTIONAL MANDATES AND AUTHORITIES:

• Army Corps of Engineers -- Clean Water Act, Rivers and Harbors Act, Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act.
• Environmental Protection Agency -- Clean Water Act, Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act.
• California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Los Angeles Region -- Porter-Cologne Act, Clean Water Act, Ocean Plan, SB 673.
• California Coastal Commission -- California Coastal Act, federal Coastal Zone Management Act, California Coastal Management Program; SB 673.
• City of Los Angeles -- California Coastal Act, POLA Port Master Plan, Tidelands Trust Act, City charter of the City of Los Angeles.
• City of Long Beach -- California Coastal Act, POLB Port Master Plan, Tidelands Trust Act, City charter of the City of Long Beach.

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