Los Angeles Basin Contaminated Sediments Task Force
Summary of Aquatic Disposal and
Dredge Operations
Committee Meeting
May 10, 2000
- Meeting time and location: May 9, 2000 at the Port of Los Angeles, from 10
am to noon.
- Attendees: Dean Smith (LA County), Mark Gold (Heal the Bay), Kathryn
Curtis (POLA), Tom Johnson (POLB), Gwangyu Wang (SMBRP), Howard Cumberland,
Alistaire Callender (Hart Crowser), Nick Buhbe (Ogden Env.), Susie Ming,
Russ Boudreau (Moffatt and Nichol Engineers), Doland Cheung, Tony Risko (USACE).
- The purpose of the meeting was to review and discuss elements of the
905(b) Analysis Report for the Corp’s Los Angeles Regional Dredged
Material Management Plan Reconnaissance Study (DMMP).
- A skeltonized 905(b) Analysis Report was presented and discussions were
held to "fill-in-the-blanks".
- Congressional districts of interest were Horn and Kuykendall.
- Marina Del Rey Reconnaissance and Feasibility Studies will be rolled
into this effort.
- This study will investigate new disposal alternatives and sites, BMPs,
environmental restoration, and sediment thresholds.
- Multiple alternatives will be investigated, both hard and soft. However,
alternatives must meet federal economic development requirements.
- New legislation and administration policy will require an objective of
Ecosystem Restoration. The Corps is still unsure as to how this will be
implemented.
- Public concerns were identified and discussed at great length:
- Economic – Disposal alternative costs are a major factor for Ports,
"No Dredge" option severely impacts Ports ability to operate,
CSTF has never addressed what level of cost is economically feasible,
"Feasibility of costs" is highly situational on business
climate.
- Political – "NIMBY" concerns with any alternative, some
public interest groups want no disposal anywhere in the ocean, current
movement to declare parts of the region a National Marine Sanctuary.
- Environmental – Effects of leaving contaminants in-place,
construction impacts, benefits of removal/reuse, bioaccumulation,
benthic effects, threatened and endangered species.
- Agency/Management – Permit/consistency coordination, sediment
thresholds, source control, unified permit applications, identifying
contaminant sources, solutions can’t inhibit Port operations, study
leaning towards predetermined goals, how will study interact with CSTF
goals.
- Quantity of contaminated material to be dredged over the next five years
will be revised by POLB.
- No preliminary plans will be eliminated from consideration at this time.
- Still need documentation and a thoroughly reviewed response from RWQCB
on landfill disposal of ocean sediments.
- Current schedule doesn’t meet deadlines of strategy adoption by CSTF.
USACE may recommend that the CSTF request an extension to make schedules
match. CSTF may not necessarily adopt the Feasibility Study strategy.
- Resources agencies not in attendance will be contacted for additional
input to the 905(b).
- The next meeting will be June 27, 2000 from 10am to noon at the Port of
Los Angeles. Topic will be to discuss the Draft 905(b) Analysis Report.
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