Briefly in the news

The agencies mounting the $32.5-million dredging and ecosystem

restoration project in Upper Newport Bay have nailed down another

$500,000.

The California Coastal Conservancy approved a grant in that amount at

an Aug. 2 meeting in Encinitas.

The conservancy handed the money to Orange County as part of a nearly

$11.5-million local match to federal funds.

The Army Corps of Engineers, which is overseeing the project, is

trying to secure the remaining $21 million from federal sources.

The conservancy’s money will go toward the $1 million needed to

complete design and engineering plans, according to an agency staff

report. The corps has agreed to pick up the second $500,000.

During the dredging, which is set to begin in 2003, the corps will

remove about 2.1 million cubic yards of sediment from the bay. In

addition to the dredging, the corps will also adjust the size of several

islands and reintroduce a patch of eelgrass on Shellmaker Island.

The Upper Newport Bay is a 3.5-mile, 1,000-acre body of water that has

been designated as “impaired” by the Environmental Protection Agency.