The Executive Committee members attending were Alexis Strauss (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), Peter Douglas (California Coastal Commission), Dennis Dickerson (Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board) and Colonel John Carroll (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers).

Michael Lyons (Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board) discussed the contract funding obtained to perform datagaps studies. The LA Regional Board received a budget augmentation of $2,033,000 for fiscal year 2000-01 to complete seven high priority tasks identified by the Task Force’s Action Subcommittees as necessary to fill gaps in our knowledge and permit development of the long-term management plan for dredging and disposal of contaminated sediments from coastal waters of the Los Angeles region. The Regional Board has entered into a master contract with the Southern California Coastal Waters Research Project (SCCWRP) to oversee project management and perform selected tasks. SCCWRP plans to subcontract for most of the tasks, and SCCWRP staff and CSTF members will develop Requests for Proposals, review bids and select contractors to do the work.

Two studies are underway: 1) EVS Environment Consultants and SCCWRP will compile sediment monitoring and stormwater data, respectively, into an electronic database. The Task Force has budgeted up to $426,350 for this task, which is scheduled for completion by June 2001; 2) Law/Crandall will conduct winter sampling within the storm drain system and perform analyses for trace metals and trace organics. The Task Force has budgeted up to $190,000 for this task, which should be completed by April 2001. Other planned tasks, for which RFPs have yet to be issued, include: 1) analysis of existing stormwater data, using the database compiled by SCCWRP (budgeted for up to $95,000); 2) development of sediment quality guidelines, using the database compiled by EVS (up to $460,000); 3) conduct a marketing survey to determine potential for re-use of products derived from contaminated sediments (up to $142,500) (the Executive Committee suggested contacting large agencies, such as CALTRANS, that might be in a position to utilize this material); 4) conduct monitoring of a pilot-scale confined aquatic disposal site (up to $285,000); 5) assess control measures to minimize water quality impacts associated with dredging and disposal operations (up to $332,500). All studies to be conducted under the contract with SCCWRP must be completed by March 2003.

Corps of Engineers’ Pilot Projects

Jim Fields (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) discussed pilot projects to be funded by the COE as part of the development of a Dredged Material Management Plan. The COE plans to use $4 million from its Operations and Maintenance Budget (all federal money, no cost-sharing requirement) to complete four projects: 1) construct a pilot-scale Confined Aquatic Disposal site within the North Energy Island Borrow Pit, using approximately 100,000 cubic meters of contaminated sediments dredged from the Los Angeles River Estuary. Construction is expected to take place from May through September, 2001; 2) conduct bench-scale tests on sediments from Marina del Rey, Los Angeles River Estuary, Port of Los Angeles/Port of Long Beach and Consolidated Slip, to determine suitability for use with a cement stabilization treatment technique. If feasible, a pilot-scale project using 25,000 cubic meters of contaminated sediments from Marina del Rey or Los Angeles River Estuary will be conducted; 3) conduct a bench-scale project to test different blending ratios (proportions of fine-grained contaminated sediments to other material) for use in constructed fill projects; 4) conduct a bench-scale project to test soil washing to remove chlorides from contaminated dredged material to allow disposal at inland sites.

The COE indicated that these pilot projects must be completed by September 30, 2001 (the end of the federal fiscal year), since any unexpended local district O & M funds would revert to the Nationwide funding pool and could be used by other districts with projects requiring funding. However, the COE indicated that it has some ability or discretion to carry over funds into the next fiscal year if a contract for a particular task already is underway, but has not been completed. However, in order to meet internal goals for awarding and implementing projects, the COE normally tries to expend all funds before the end of the fiscal year (i.e., by September 30, 2001, in this case). It appears that the Task Force and the COE have a little leeway to extend pilot projects beyond September 30^th, which may allow us to avoid downsizing pilot projects due to time constraints, but we should not count on major delays and we will need to ensure that the bulk of the COE funds are expended (not just encumbered) prior to the end of the fiscal year.

Maile Gee (California Coastal Commission) presented a discussion of the current schedule for completion of the long-term management plan. The existing deadline of January 1, 2003, for submission of the final plan to the legislature will be very difficult to meet, due to the time needed by the Task Force to complete the datagaps studies and the time required by the COE to complete its Dredged Material Management Plan. The Task Force members recommend seeking an extension of this deadline from the Legislature to allow us to take full advantage of the information to be gained from completion of these efforts. The estimated additional time needed by the Task Force to complete the management plan ranges from one-and one-half to two years longer than the statutory deadline of January 1, 2003. Under Scenario 1, we would anticipate completion of the management plan by October 30, 2004. Under Scenario 2, which compresses the public and internal review periods of draft and final documents, the plan could be completed by April 30, 2004.

The Executive Committee asked if the timeline for completion of the management plan could be shortened by starting to develop portions of the draft report as soon as possible, rather than waiting until all of the studies are completed to initiate this task. This approach could shorten the draft report preparation stage by several months, resulting in an earlier submittal of the final management plan. The Task Force members agreed to develop an outline for the final report and a schedule for completion of each section of the report.

Even if the timeline can be shortened, an extension of the statutory deadline for submittal of the final management plan still would be needed. The Executive Committee suggested that any request for additional time (and additional funding, if necessary) should be timed to occur during the legislative sessions in early 2002, rather than now. Many of the datagaps studies and the COE pilot projects should be completed over the next twelve months, so by early 2002 the Task Force should be in a better position to document and justify the need for more time and additional funding to complete the management plan.

Kathy Anderson (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) described COE progress towards development of a Dredged Material Management Plan (DMMP). The COE received funds for Fiscal Year 2001 to initiate a Feasibility Study for development of a DMMP. The cost for development of a DMMP has been estimated at $2 million. The COE would require a Cost Sharing Agreement with a non-federal sponsor (or sponsors) prior to initiating this project (local sponsors must provide 50% of the support, although this can now be 100% in-kind services rather than cash, due to changes in WERDA 2000). The COE has had discussions with the Port of Long Beach, City of Long Beach, Port of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles regarding their willingness to act as local sponsors. The Port of Long Beach has indicated an unwillingness to act as a local sponsor, while the other three agencies appear to be willing to sign on, although only the County of Los Angeles has formally agreed. The Executive Committee expressed a desire to see all four agencies participate in the development of the DMMP, if possible. Top level managers from the COE and the Port of Long Beach will meet to try to resolve this situation. The COE hopes to have a signed Cost Sharing Agreement by March 2001 to remain on schedule for initiation of the DMMP project.

The COE expressed its desire to develop the DMMP to complement the work of the Contaminated Sediments Task Force. However, some of the Task Force members, particularly the Port of Long Beach, questioned the need for the COE study, suggesting that it was duplicative in many ways with the Task Force’s development of a long-term management plan. The Executive Committee and Task Force members indicated that the COE should not spend funds to redo work that others have done and should ensure that it is breaking new ground as it moves forward with the DMMP. There also was some discussion regarding a possible interagency agreement between the four regulatory agencies (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, California Coastal Commission) for implementation of a DMMP. The Executive Committee recommended discussing these issues at the next Executive Committee meeting with presentation of additional background material. Task Force members pointed out the need for greater participation by COE regulatory staff in the Task Force and Subcommittee meetings. Suggestions were made to focus on regulatory issues at certain meetings, if possible, and hold meetings at the COE office to encourage COE regulatory staff to attend.

The COE plans to construct a pilot-scale confined aquatic disposal (CAD) site within the North Energy Island Borrow Pit, using up to 100,000 cubic meters of contaminated sediments from the Los Angeles River Estuary. This pilot project would be designed to test the integrity of the cap placed over the dredged material and the stability of the contaminated sediments placed into the confined aquatic disposal site over time. Although the COE has received funds for design and construction of the CAD site, it has not obtained funds to conduct long-term monitoring of the site. The Task Force members agreed upon the need to conduct long-term monitoring of the CAD site to assess the effectiveness of the capping material to sequester the contaminated sediments from the marine environment. Although long-term monitoring may continue for 5 to 10 years, it is likely that the monitoring will be most intensive (and most expensive) during the first few years. The Task Force has budgeted funds (up to $285,000) from the datagaps studies contract to perform CAD site monitoring. However, funds from this contract must be expended by March 2003, meaning that the Task Force may be able to pay for the first two years of monitoring. However, the COE or another agency would need to secure funds to pay for additional monitoring in subsequent years. The Aquatic Subcommittee is developing a plan for monitoring of the CAD site and a cost estimate for this task, which should be available within a month or two. The Executive Committee agreed with the need for long-term monitoring and suggested that the COE and the Task Force explore ways to commit to funding this item. One suggestion was for the COE to commit funds from the current year’s budget to a contractor to pay for monitoring in future years. The COE indicated that it is committed to request funds for long-term monitoring of the CAD site, but may need help getting congressional approval.

Maile Gee and Michael Lyons pointed out the need for additional funding following completion of the long-term management plan (e.g., to update the plan periodically, maintain the database of sediment monitoring and stormwater data). These issues will be discussed in more detail at a future Executive Committee meeting.

COE and Port of Long Beach will meet to discuss Port’s concerns regarding local sponsorship of development of Dredged Material Management Plan.

Task Force will develop outline for final report and schedule for completion of each section of long-term management plan.

COE and Task Force will develop plan for funding long-term monitoring of confined aquatic disposal site.

The next Executive Meeting is scheduled for July 17, 2001, 10 am to noon, at the Port of Long Beach. The meeting will focus on the results from ongoing datagaps studies and progress by the COE on pilot project studies.

Return to the Contaminated Sediments Task Force home page.

Return to the California Coastal Commission's home page.