Toxins up cost of bay project

Pesticides and mercury in Newport Harbor have turned dredging the waterway into a potentially toxic undertaking.

Sediment and urban runoff containing nasty chemicals like those found in common ant and roach killers find their way from upstream into the harbor.

The presence of insecticides in the local waters containing a type of natural chemical compounds called pyrethrins mean costly federal environmental approvals before the city can begin dredging, said Newport Beach Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff.

The chemicals kill tiny organisms at the bottom of the food chain and need proper — and expensive — federally-approved disposal methods, Kiff said.

“We’re not seeing a big effect of this on the habitat yet, but we certainly are seeing an effect with dredging,” Kiff said. “The EPA is going to have us deal with the problem before we dredge.”

Thoroughly cleaning the lower harbor could cost anywhere from $12 million to $14 million over several years, according to city estimates.

City officials are looking to budget $2 million to $4 million next fiscal year for cleaning the lower part of Newport Bay.

The body of water hasn’t been thoroughly dredged since the 1930s, and boaters often complain of running aground. Cleaning the harbor falls under federal jurisdiction, but the project is low on the list of priorities because government officials view the site as a pleasure harbor, not a working waterway.

Money for dredging from the city in next year’s budget could be used as matching funds to spark a federal clean-up project. The money also could go to dredge out the worst areas of the harbor, Kiff said.

City officials will likely discuss putting money in next year’s budget for the harbor and how it could be used in the next few weeks, Councilwoman Leslie Daigle said.

“The basic idea is to discuss the appropriateness of a local cost share, and if we were to do a project, what that would look like,” Daigle said. “I guess what is sort of being a tossed around is a multi-phased, multi-year project.”

An estimated 900,000 cubic yards of sediment needs to be removed from the lower harbor.

City officials also hope U.S. Rep. John Campbell will sponsor a bill that would give Newport Beach control of Newport Harbor in exchange for dredging the waterway. The process would involve an act of Congress as well as federal appropriations.

Under the deal, the city would permanently relieve the Corps of Engineers of its responsibilities over the harbor in exchange for one last dredging of the waterway.